Gods Eater Burst- The Truth Behind His Past
by rydia3791
Summary: The leader of the first unit continues his final days of fighting against the aragami. However, an unwanted visitor from his past comes into his daily life, threatening him. And those whom he is close to. What will await for Drake, as his past becomes bared, and seen by those around him? WARNING! SPOILERS ON GODS EATER BURST PLOT.
1. Part 1 Chapter 1: The Final Days

_Author's note: Another GEB fanfic, this time with a different twist. I have another fanfic, so if anybody is curious, please read_ Gods Eater Burst-Get Well Soon, Leader.

_SPOILERS WARNING! DO NOT READ THIS FANFIC IF YOU HAVE NOT COMPLETED THE GAME. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. _

_With all said and due, please rate and comment so that I can further improve my writing. All copyrights (except my avatar) belong to the original creators and producers. For those who want a visual on my character here is the profile, based on the game:_

_Name: Drake Galios_

_Gender: Male_

_Code name: 11th hour_

_Hairstyle: 5_

_Color: 15_

_Face: 6_

_Skin: 1_

_Top: Petunia Jacket_

_Bottom: Naval Slit_

_Voice: 4_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

The sound of the gears moving reaches the ears. The rattling of the elevator shakes his body as he stands, placing his back on the cold metal wall. With a sudden stop, the bell dings, stopping at the door to the main hall.

"Another day, another hunt.." he mumbled to himself.

The elevator doors slid themselves open, and a small gust of wind blew his dark blue bangs, making them move a bit. A glare of light showered his red eyes, forcing him to squint, as he stepped out of the elevator. The sun rays glistened though the windows, along with the main hall lights, bringing a sudden flash of light to one's eyes. He instinctively placed his hand over his line of vision. As his vision gradually became clear, he spotted a few familiar faces and figures, sitting and talking among each other on the couches. Out of curiosity, Drake approaches them.

"Morning, you guys." he greeted.

Kota, Lindow and Soma turn to Drake.

"Hey! Leader! Anything special for today?" smiled Lindow.

"Nothing all that much. What about you guys?"

"We were just talking about this thing here." Lindow pointed to a ring, tucked neatly in its square, blue case, as it sits on the coffee table. The small diamond shimmered under the bright lights.

"Who's ring is this?" asked Drake.

"One of my buddies from the 7th unit told to me to hang onto this for him. He's got his sights on a woman in the medical team. Says she's the doctor who's been looking out for him the most." explained Lindow.

"A proposal, huh? But why ask you to hang onto this?"

"Apparently, he's making the proposal into a huge surprise. Her birthday is coming up, and he plans to make a cake, while decorating it with the 'Will you marry me?' writing, and topping it off with the ring."

"And get this Drake!" Kota, joining in on their conversation, points at Soma.

"I asked Soma if he would he ever do a special proposal like this, and he said no."

Irritated by Kota's statement, Soma angrily responds,

"It's too much of a hassle. If you ask me, it's better to just go up front, and ask. Who the hell goes all the way to just make some sort of surprise?"

_Blunt as ever, Soma._ thought Drake, as he is not surprised by his usual personality.

"That's boring though, Soma. Where's the fun in that?" reiterated Kota. "You gotta make things special for others. You always do in my line of experience."

"Since when were you an expert on romance, Mr. I'm-forever-single?"

Struck by his cold-hard-plain-truth words, Kota yells back at him.

"Oh yeah?! What about you?! Try asking a girl those exact words up-front!"

"Grrrkkkkkkkk!"

Blushing furiously, Soma became flabbergasted, and couldn't utter a complete word. He couldn't produce any argument to counter Kota's childish back-talk.

"Ha! Knew it. You can't even talk properly to a girl." said Kota, as he mockingly grins at Soma.

"Damn it, shut up, Kota!"

The two continue arguing at each other, while Lindow and Drake just watches them. Ignoring them, Drake turns to Lindow.

"By the way where's Alisa and Sakuya?"

"They're downstairs. Lower level of the main floor. I think they're with sis and Hibari." he answered. Turning back to Soma and Kota, Lindow tries to stop their petty fight. "OK, ladies, That's enough. No need to swing your bags at each other."

Amused by the rowdiness of his friends, Drake continues watching them.

Meanwhile, on the lower level, the girls overhear the guys' shouting voices. They all turned their heads to the upper level couches.

"What are those three yelling for, anyway?" wondered Hibari.

Tsubaki, noticing Drake, walks over to the stairs. Alisa spotted him as well, and followed pursuit. Not knowing the ladies approaching them, the guys continue their conversation.

"I still think that it's better to just go up front and ask them." said Soma.

Drake picked up the ring, along with its case, and says,

"So, what? You're just gonna go up to a girl, and ask 'Will you marry me?' " He turned around, unaware that they're behind him, Drake unknowingly presented the ring to Tsubaki.

As he noticed her face, the room froze into silence. Shocked out of his wits, Drake's mouth dropped. He almost dropped the ring, as he stumbled the ring in his possession. Suddenly, Lindow bursts with laughter.

"Bahahaha! Nice Drake! Smooth move!"

Kota and Soma stare in amazement, not saying anything by the sudden turnabout this situation has gotten into. Tsubaki glares at Drake with ice-cold eyes, unamused.

"Whoa! Tsubaki?!" Drake hides the ring behind his back. His face started to turn red with embarrassment.

Soma, making things worse for Drake, adds, "And right in front of Alisa too."

As he heard her name, he peeked behind Tsubaki, spotting her.

Drake's face darkened.

Alisa gave off an intimidating aura, giving off the feel as if she was about to murder him, for doing something so foolish and stupid. Her hands clenched tightly together, her eyebrows twitched, her shoulders trembled. What was even more worse, was that she wasn't looking straight into Drake's eyes.

"Oh crud... Waitwaitwaitwait, Alisa! This isn't what it looks like! It's a misunderstanding! Really!" stepping back a little, Drake shook his head violently.

"Drake...you..." Alisa darkly growled at him.

"N-n-n-n-now hold on, Alisa! I-"

Without giving him another second to explain himself, Alisa stomped over to Drake, grabbing him by the collar.

"YOU FOOL! WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" she screamed at his face.

"Arrgh! Forgive me!"

As Drake starts to sweat unnaturally, while crying out for mercy, Alisa continues scolding, yelling, and grabbing Drake's collar. The rest watch the two new types shout at each other, while Lindow just keeps on laughing hysterically at them. Kota began laughing as well, while Soma quietly chuckles. Tsubaki sighs, not caring about the recent events. She shook her head in disapproval, and raised her voice, commanding,

"Lieutenant Galios, Private Ameilla! That's enough!"

They both froze as they heard Tsubaki's booming voice. By her orders, Alisa releases Drake's collar. She glares back at Drake, and he flinched. Trying to catch his breath, Lindow calls over to Drake.

"Hahaha...ahaha...oh man... Hey Drake! Just place that back here on the table." snickered Lindow, as he pointed on the table.

"Y-yeah.. Got it."

Trying to compose himself, Drake steps over to the coffee table, placing the ring. Alisa continues eyeing daggers at him. As he felt her suspenseful, painful, glare, Drake nervously looks away from Alisa. Coming from downstairs, Sakuya joins with the others, seeing Alisa with a terrifying look. She traces Alisa's line of vision, finding that it's locked on Drake.

_Ah, so that's what's the yelling is all about._

Tsubaki, breaking the uneasy silence, says,

"If you are done, I would like your undivided attention."

The main hall becomes silent once more, this time, being more serious.

"Lately, there has been recent questioning about the lieutenant's work in aragami extermination missions."

As soon as Tsubaki said that, everybody stares at Drake, with questioned looks.

Drake, unfazed by Tsubaki's announcement, asks, "Whatever do you mean, Tsubaki?"

"There have been many reports of you eliminating high-class, powerful aragami. What's more, you have been soloing on them."

The silence became heavy; some stared at Drake in wonder, some showed a surprised expression.

"Beforehand, I would like to confirm this." Tsubaki gazed straight into Drake's eyes, and with a cold, hard voice, she asks, "Is this true?"

Drake stayed silent for a bit, and answers, "Yes. It is. Why do you ask?"

"Doctor Sakaki would like to test your abilities, as to how you are able to fight powerful aragami on your own."

"Let me guess, research purposes?"

"That's part of the reason, but the other reason, is that he wants to use your battle tactics as references for other god eaters. It will be highly useful for everybody else."

"And how does Sakaki plan to do that?"

"He'll allow you to select which high-class aragami, you'll get to battle. One of the pilots will also be recording it, as they continuously hover in the area."

"Why can't he ask me up front? I can always give him the details of it."

"As I said before, reference. He requires a visual, which is why Sakaki is assigning you this task."

Raising his hand with a concerned voice, Kota questions Tsubaki, "But, isn't that dangerous? I mean, we're talking about fighting an all-mighty aragami by yourself. The last time all of us fought something like that was four of us against one of them."

"Drake has just recently confirmed that he has handled a task such as this. Which is why this mission has been assigned to him."

"I-I see." Kota meekly responded.

...

...

"If it helps the other god eaters, than I'd be more than willing to do so." nodded Drake.

The others flinched at his words, taken aback and were shocked at him agreeing so easily. Soma suddenly stood up, Lindow jumped a little in his seat, Kota's shoulders drooped, Sakuya's eyes bulged, and Alisa silently gasped. For a few seconds, they all stood still, as they were clammed up Drake's answer. Soma broke the dead air, infuriatingly hollering at Drake,

"Are you a moron?! Doing something like this is suicide!"

Drake turned his head to Soma, chuckling,"Soma, I've taken care of many solo missions like these. They're incredibly easy; you guys just don't know about me doing them."

"But!"

"That's enough Soma." as Drake raised his hand stopping him, Soma followed his order. Drake turned back to Tsubaki."You say that I can choose any powerful aragami out there, right?"

"Yes, that's correct. So long as you are confident in defeating it."

"Then there's only one aragami that's suitable for this assignment." he smirked.

Everybody payed full attention to Drake, expecting on what aragami he'll choose to fight. Lindow, however, grasped the meaning behind Drake's words. As soon as he did, he silently gasped and lifted his head. He stood up, provoked. He tried to stop Drake with a menacing voice, even though he knew it would be useless to prevent him from choosing.

"Drake...Don't even think about it..."

Selfishly smiling, not caring about the concern in Lindow's voice, Drake answered, "Tsubaki, tell Sakaki I'll be fighting the Dyaus Pita."

* * *

End of Chapter 1: The Final Days


	2. Chapter 2: The Wheel of Fate is Turning

Clamoring voices fills the air of the main hall. Individuals moved and weaved around the crowd of people. A few persons from the maintenance unit, began setting up a table, near the monitor above, filled with communication equipment. Strands of cords were strewn all over the floor, speakers sat at both ends of the table or on the floor, microphones were being plugged into the communication systems. Some members from the research unit were taking notes on their clipboards, while others help set up the equipment.

Trying to get to the elevator, the first unit, criss-cross through. Kota and Lindow led the group, trying to make their way, as they gently moved other people out of their path. They finally arrived in front of the elevator.

"Damn, this is insane. I've never seen so many people gathering all at once, just for this one mission." sighed Lindow.

"Is this the first monitored mission?" asked Kota.

"No. There were a few other monitored ones. Though they were a whole lot more...quiet and passive compared to this." replied Lindow.

He glanced at Alisa, wearing a worried expression. She stared at the elevator, silent, ever since they came into the main hall. Drake was preparing himself, and was to meet with Sakaki. Not knowing what to say, Lindow scratches his head. He stares at Sakuya, who is standing next to her. With a short gesture, he pointed to Alisa. Sakuya, catching his action, nodded.

"I'm sure Drake will be fine. After all, he said he completed missions like this."

Alisa suddenly lifted her head, and pivoted it to Sakuya. Sakuya smiled at her, trying to ease her best friend's anxiety. Alisa dropped her head down, still showing a troubled look.

"But...even so..."

Lindow breathed out wistfully. Backing up Sakuya's statement, with his best outward smile, he spoke,

"Drake's always out-speeding his enemies. Almost nobody can catch that guy while he's endlessly running around and attacking. I doubt he could get hurt."

"..."

"That guy's hard to get to rid of. In more ways than one." commented Soma.

"Wow, Soma. Are you actually comforting someone?" joked Kota.

"Shut up you."

Interrupting their conversation, the elevator dings. As they heard it, the floor indicator on the side, gradually changed from 'Executive Section', to 'Entrance'. It dinged once more, and the doors opened. There, the doors revealed Doctor Sakaki, and Drake. Everybody in the main hall placed their attention to the two men, as they stepped out of the elevator. Sakaki moved over to the door of the hangar, standing in front of it. Drake followed Sakaki, and they both faced the crowd. One of the members from the research unit handed Sakaki a plugged microphone. Showing his usual shifty-eyed face with a smile, Sakaki began his explanation of the situation.

"Sorry to keep you waiting everyone. As we all know, we are here to observe the lieutenant's battle plan. This mission is required to better the understanding on how to battle high-class powerful aragami for our god eaters. The aragami he will be fighting will be the Dyaus Pita, a new-type Vajra."

As Sakaki announced the name, a picture of the Dyaus Pita appeared on the huge monitor above him.

"The Dyaus Pita is highly balanced in both power and speed. To add to this, the defense for this aragami is quite sturdy, making it difficult to land an attack on it. This aragami, is basically an electric-like tiger; if a god eater were to get close to it as it emits electricity, the god eater would have a chance of getting stunned. Furthermore..."

Sakaki continues his explanation on the Dyaus Pita. Alisa, however, just stares at Drake, ignoring Sakaki's speech, still disturbed and concerned. Drake noticed the silver-haired Russian girl's expression.

_She's still worried I see. Well, it's only natural for her to be. After all, the Dyaus Pita did damage her, in more ways than one. _thought Drake.

Not wanting to attract the crowd's attention, Drake simply smiled at her. Alisa was surprised by the sudden change on his face. He continued showing that happy-go-lucky grin to her, until she finally smiled as well.

_That's right. Worrying about his safety, would only mean doubting his strength. I need to believe in him. After all, he supported me. Everybody else as well._

With a sigh of relief, Alisa finally listened to Sakaki's speech. After a few minutes, he finally finished and enclosed,

"Now, let's begin the test, shall we?"

* * *

No words were spoken. The sounds of metal clanging and drills bolting in bolts reached their ears, as they stood in the hangar. Licca was preparing Drake's god arc, as requested by him.

"Phew! Finally done. Drake! Your god arc's done, just like you asked me."

"Thanks Licca."

Drake stood in front of the table holding his god arc. He picked it up, raising it in the air. The silver short blade glistened under the lights, the white bow-gun hid itself under the blade, and a yellow shield with rune markings sat on top of it. The first unit, Tsubaki, and Sakaki, stared at Drake's god arc, wondering his choice of weapons. Sakaki, knowing what everyone else is thinking, asks Drake,

"Well now. What kind of weapons did you have Licca apply on your god arc, Drake?"

"The shield part is Seraphim G. Since the Dyaus Pita can occasionally stun its opponents, this shield will protect me from it. The gun part is the Ibaraki Bow EX. This gun is capable of piercing shots. It's quite balanced in elemental shots. And this... This blade is the Chevalier EX. The only thing this weapon has, is the sharpest tip there is. Meaning, it has the highest piercing power. It's the key to the Dyaus Pita."

"Hey, are you sure these weapons will work? The Dyaus Pita has a weakness to divine equipment." questioned Kota, unsure by his choice of weaponry.

"Oh it is, Kota. You'd be surprised by the true weakness of the Dyaus Pita." chuckled Drake.

"Huh?"

As Kota was bewildered by Drake's statement, Sakaki wandered over to Drake, handing him an earpiece.

"Me and the research unit will be communicating you though this. The rest of the first unit will be backup, in case you need any help. We'll be observing your battle through the monitor. You be careful out there, Drake."

"Thanks Sakaki." nodded Drake.

Kota, Lindow, and Sakuya walked over to Drake, telling him to be careful as well.

"Go get 'em." Kota gave out his fist to Drake. He bumped it in return.

"Remember those 3 orders I always gave you, all right? Or was that 4? Anyways, just come back alive, OK?" Lindow gave a high-five to Drake, and so did Sakuya.

Soma standing against the rails, gave a thumbs-up. Drake returned it.

He turned to Alisa, who was silent. Their eyes met, and they stared at each other for a moment. They didn't say anything. All she did was smile, and so did Drake.

"Well I'm off, you guys." beamed Drake.

With those final words, he left for the door, and out he went.

As the doors closed behind him, the sunlight shines on down on his face, followed with a small gust of wind. Helicopters on helipads came into his vision. Drake digs into his pocket, producing a small golden amulet.

"The dreaded day is nearing. I just hope no one knows..." he looks up into the blue sky. "After I'm done, I'll go visit you...Clara."

* * *

End of Chapter 2: The Wheel of Fate is Turning


	3. Chapter 3: Let the Gears Move

_Author's note: Play God Eater OST God and Man vocal ver. at the beginning of this fic. Click onto my account name above for the link. God and Man is originally composed by Masaru (Go) Shiina. Vocals by Donna Burke. Credits to MaShiinaG0 on Youtube for the video of this song. I'd like to thank jashinsamael on youtube for showing his video on challenge mission 27, Live Prey; A solo mission on the Dyaus Pita. Thanks to him, I've been using the Chevalier EX on the Dyaus Pita ever since. If you are curious about his video, just click on my profile to see _Gods Eater Burst- Live Prey (Challenge)- Melee, Solo in 1:21 SSS+

* * *

_"You're gonna sing them your best piece?"_

_"Of course."_

_She steps out of the curtains, and centers herself on the main stage. Showered by the lights, she is eyed by the many people in the dark, the only centerpiece on the empty floor. Her black dress with red ribbons and long dark brown hair were shown. She opened her mouth, while a piano began to play._

_"Memories keep flooding in showing the paths I should've taken, but  
now that time has run away from me I cannot change a thing.  
I remember how you'd counsel me with wisdom of the ages true:  
"Live your best life" you told me and "You walk the earth but once"  
and now you've come, to see me once again,  
I feel safe at last; Although I feel the end is coming closer unto me.  
If I could only travel back in time, to peaceful days gone by.  
But this is my price to pay: to not survive beyond this very day.  
Oh, the pain is lessened when you're near, there is no fear.  
I'm whole again as in days gone by, if only for a while.  
But it hurts to have to leave you so, I don't want to go.  
Could this sacrifice cost me my life?_

_Oh, just to live my life again, to treasure every little moment then,_  
_satisfied, I'd leave you all behind, accepting of my fate._  
_But I am full of grief, to leave this life so incomplete._  
_My dream is coming to the end._

_And now the light is fading, broken wings have brought the journey's end.  
Your voice, that led me safe thus far is fading from my ears.  
You were everything to me, a light to guide me in my darkest hour;  
don't want to say goodbye just yet, don't want to be alone  
and then you come, to hold me once again, I feel safe at last.  
Although I feel the end is coming closer unto me.  
If I could only travel back in time, to peaceful days gone by.  
But this is my price to pay: to not survive beyond this very day.  
Oh, the pain is lessened when you're near, there is no fear.  
I'm whole again as in days gone by, if only for a while.  
But it hurts to have to leave you so, I don't want to go.  
Could this sacrifice cost me my life?_

_Oh, tomorrow will not ever come, my night's begun._  
_And I must travel far beyond, to places yet unseen._  
_Remember me, and treasure everyday; even come what may_  
_forget not the precious gift of time, I pray._  
_Oh, just to live my life again, to treasure every little moment then,_  
_satisfied, I'd leave you all behind, accepting of my fate._  
_But I am full of grief to leave this life so incomplete._  
_My dream is coming to the end._

* * *

"Till my life comes to an end...That is if it can..." he tinkers with the amulet, and sighed gloomily. _Every year, it's always the same thing. There's nothing to be happy about it..._

"Lieutenant Galios! We will be arriving at the City of Mercy, shortly." declared the pilot.

Snapping out of his ghost-like trance, Drake hides his amulet in his pocket. "O-oh! Understood." replied Drake.

The helicopter lowered itself to the checkpoint of the city. Grabbing his god arc and adjusting his earpiece, Drake slid the helicopter's door to the side. Wind blew on his face, and the helicopter's rotor flooded his eardrums.

"Good luck out there lieutenant!" bellowed the pilot, as he tries to pass the message to Drake over the noise of the rotor.

"Thank you!"

Drake leaped out of the helicopter, and as he landed, he cushioned the impact as much as possible on his legs. The helicopter's door closed, and maneuvered itself away from the checkpoint. It gradually rose itself in the air, as the noise of the rotor slowly slipped away. Drake watched it hover over the city. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

"Let's go."

He roamed to the edge of the cliff, leaping to the ground once more. The earpiece buzzed, and a familiar cheerful man's voice caught his attention.

"Drake? Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear Sakaki."

"Good. The pilots told me they just spotted the Dyaus Pita jump into the church. Try to bring it outside, if you can."

"Gotcha."

Drake switched his god arc from blade form, to gun form. Without making a sound as much as possible, he ran to the church. As he entered inside, he slowed down the pace of his footsteps. Poking his head out from the scaffolding of the wall, a familiar jet-black tiger came into his sights. It showed its back to Drake, feeding on the fresh caught ogretail.

It was absorbed by its meal.

With no hesitation, Drake pointed his gun at the Dyaus Pita. Slipping his finger onto the trigger, he pulled it, and a rain of divine shot type bullets pierced the back of the aragami. The jet-black aragami swiveled its body, angered by the sudden interruption of his quiet meal. The face is like that of an old man, and it roared at Drake. Drake apathetically watched the aragami.

_You roaring at my face, is only music to my ears._

The Dyaus Pita leaped at Drake, claws drawn out, fangs bared at him. He dodged, and sprinted to the entrance of the church. Drake tauntingly waved at the electric tiger, and ran away from it. The Dyaus Pita followed him, provoked at his prey's behavior. They both passed the helicopter, who was watching them from above. Hearing the constant stomping, Drake lured the jet-black aragami to the other side of the church. They both stopped as they came into the wide-open area. Drake rotated himself, and faced the electric tiger, switching his god arc to blade form.

Their eyes focused on each other for a moment.

Neither of them looked away. Neither of them snap the line of vision. They only both stared at each other, waiting for a reaction on the other. The second one them lets their guard down, the second one of them will attack. Everything was still. Everything was quiet. The only thing they both heard was the sound of each other's breathing.

Far away on the opposite side of where those two are, the helicopter lingered in the air.

One pilot was driving the helicopter, one was fiddling with the camera. The camera man opened the cockpit's window, and activated the camera. He pointed it at Drake and the aragami.

* * *

_MEANWHILE, AT THE FAR EAST BRANCH'S MAIN HALL..._

"Look! There he is! He's with the Dyaus." pointed Kota.

Sakaki pushed the button on the microphone, and spoke,

"Zoom in on those two."

The image of Drake and the Dyaus Pita became enlarged on the monitor.

All gazed at the large screen, all grasped the meaning behind their staring contest. Everything was still. Everything was quiet. Nervousness crept, as the dead air continued to drift.

* * *

The stillness continued.

Who would be the first to flinch?

Who would be the first to move?

Who would make their first strike?

...

...

...

...

...

Drake did.

He swiftly slashed at the front legs of the Dyaus Pita; it roared and tried to bite Drake's head off.

However, it was useless.

He avoided it, and came behind the jet-black aragami. As it whirled itself around, Drake closed in on the short distance, and began attacking its front legs again. With each slash, there was the sound of the oracle cells being ripped apart, bit by bit. Drake persisted in attacking, and as he did, the Dyaus roared in pain. It jumped with a back flip, hoping to retaliate the attacks. It shot a torrent of electrical orbs at Drake; he dodged to the side, and sprinted towards it. With another stream of attacks, the oracle cells became unbound, and the electric tiger fumbled down. As it did, Drake commenced a combo devour.

The burst filled his entire body with a faint glow. He jumped back, and switched to gun-form. Using the aragami bullet he received, he shot the same torrent of electrical orbs back at the Dyaus. It tried to pick itself up, however catching its movements, Drake reverted back to his short blade, and continued his session of slashes at his enemy.

Not wanting to go down, the Dyaus Pita lifted its fore leg, and was about to run its claws at Drake.

* * *

"Drake!" cried Alisa, as she watched the battle unfold.

* * *

In an instant, Drake brought out his shield, only to be pushed back by the impact of the force. Suddenly, the Dyaus's body showed small sparks on its orange cape.

_Shit! Its gonna pounce at me with an electrical charge._

Jumping high into the air, the jet-black aragami dived itself toward Drake. He ran forward, turned around, and brought out his shield again. As it landed, an electric explosion surrounded the Dyaus Pita. Drake managed to block the attack. He closed the short distance again, and arrived at the front legs; with no mercy, Drake hammered the pain on the Dyaus Pita's legs even further, even though its oracle cells were already unbound.

It was about to headbutt Drake, and as he noticed the attack, Drake shielded himself. As he was pushed back, the Dyaus trembled, and fell down. It tried to get up, but fumbled again.

"Let's end this with a bang."

Drake switched to gun-form, and aimed at his target. He slipped his finger on the trigger.

"There's no way back for you."

Pulling the trigger, Drake fired a divine bullet. As the bullet hit the Dyaus's face, it exploded. The Dyaus roared with a final cry that resounded throughout the city.

With a heavy thump, the Dyaus Pita was killed.

* * *

Everybody gazed at the monitor in silence. No words were spoken by the shocking result.

Suddenly, screams of cheers roared in the main hall. The first unit flinched at the sudden noise.

"Holy cow... The dude just killed the most strongest aragami out there!" shouted Kota.

"I know the guy's powerful, but... This is ridiculous... Remind me not to battle him in training." grinned Lindow.

"Defeating the Emperor... Heh. Nice going, leader." chuckled Soma.

"Haha. One things for sure... We know we can rely on Drake." smiled Sakuya.

Alisa watched the large screen, staring in amazement. She never took her eyes off of it, nor did she utter a sound.

_Incredible... Drake... actually defeated the Dyaus Pita._

As the thought crossed her head, she smiled gently.

* * *

Drake placed his finger on his earpiece. The faint glow disappeared.

"Mission clear- ow!" he cringed on the background noise in his earpiece. _I'm guessing everybody is going crazy with the results. _Not caring about the noise hurting his eardrum, Drake smiled. "Mission Cleared, Sakaki. Target has been eliminated. I'm heading back to base."

"Good work, Drake. I have to say, I was stunned by your performance. Me and the rest of the first unit will see you at the helipad."

"Got it."

The earpiece buzzed, cutting the line. Drake approached the dead aragami, and devoured it, receiving the core in his god arc. A small flash of light glinted.

_Got a rare one. _thought Drake.

The helicopter hovered over to Drake's location. It lowered itself in the air, and the doors were opened by the camera man. He stretched out his hand. Drake ran to the camera man's outstretched hand. He jumped and grabbed it. Hanging, he pushed his god arc inside the interior, while the camera man, helped him up to climb in. The doors closed behind Drake.

"Good work lieutenant. We'll be heading back to base shortly."

The fellow camera man gave a salute, while Drake returned it. He walked over to a nearby seat, and sat down. The camera man returned to the cockpit.

Drake stared at the window, and sighed. He brought out the amulet from his pocket, and stared. _2 days from now... only 2 days from now... I'll have to ask Sakaki if I can take a two-day break. I need to pay my respects to Clara. _Drake clutched the amulet in his hand.

The helicopter rose in the air, flying back to the Far East Branch.

* * *

The cheering continued in the main hall. A figure in the crowd weaved through the people. The figure arrived in front of the elevator, and pushed the up button. As the figure waited for the elevator, the figure turned back, and looked at Alisa. The figure kept on staring, until the elevator dinged, and the doors opened. The figure glanced at the elevator, then back to Alisa. The figure then turned its vision to the monitor. The figure sneered, and walked in the elevator. As the doors closed, the figure pulled out its cellphone, and made a call. It picked up the answer.

"It's confirmed. The young man is definitely Cain. You want me to commence it?...Understood."

* * *

End of Chapter 3: Let the Gears Move


	4. Chapter 4: Bitter Feelings

_Author's note: Click on my account name to play God Eater OST No Way Back, once you see a paragraph of lyrics on this fic. No Way Back is originally composed by Masaru (Go) Shiina. Lyrics by Ben Franklin. Credits to MaShiinaG0 on youtube for posting the video of this song._

* * *

_"You should try singing some songs."_

_"Please don't tell me you're asking me to sing that opera stuff." he sighed._

_"I'm not. And besides, it's not opera. The way you usually see me sing, is an aria style. But anyways, I'm going off topic. Why not trying singing this piece?"_

_She steps over to the table, holding a music sheet. She gives the music sheet to him. _

_As he looks over on the music sheet, he asks, "What kind of music piece is this?"_

_"It's more of a rock style song. I think you'll like the lyrics. Since it fits your personality." she grinned._

What's that supposed to mean? _Ignoring that last comment, he says,_ _"I'm surprised you have something like this, considering that you mostly do classical music."_

_"Just because I do classical music, doesn't mean I can't do modern music as well. Go ahead, try singing it."_

_"Now?"_

_She nods eagerly back at him. He sighs, and clears his throat. Finally, he opens his mouth, and follows her order._

_"How can I break the fall  
How can I find my way back  
To who I was before this shadow fell_

_I cannot break the fall_  
_I cannot find my way back_  
_To who I was before the dark of night_  
_Conquered my soul._  
_I cannot break the fall_  
_I cannot find my way back_

_The future's so uncertain I can't see_  
_It used to be so clear_  
_But I'm caught inside a misty gloom._  
_I'm fighting crazy shadows_  
_The amber streams growing wild_  
_I must move on and I must not give in to_  
_This insane world. It's catching fire_  
_round me now_

_I'll rise up,_  
_Won't stand down_  
_To anyone's commands, live or die._  
_I won't break_  
_I'm always ready for another round yeah_  
_I'm alive!_

_How can I break the fall_  
_How can I find my way through_  
_This maze of troubles and uncertainty_  
_I cannot break the fall_  
_I cannot find my way back._  
_The dark is so complete it's blinding me_  
_I used to know the way_  
_But I've lost the prophets word's inside._  
_Now I've got no direction_  
_Who'll be my guiding light?_

_I must rise up and I must not give in to_  
_This insane world, it's got a hold of me now_  
_I'm alright_  
_I'm okay_

_I'll find my way again, end the fall_  
_I won't break_  
_I'm always ready for another round yeah_  
_I'll survive_

_I must move on and I must not give in to_  
_This insane world. It's catching fire_  
_round me now_  
_I'll rise up,_  
_Won't stand down_  
_To anyone's commands, live or die._  
_I won't break_  
_I'm always ready for another round yeah_

_I'm alive!_  
_I'm alive"_

* * *

"Lieutenant?...Lieutenant Galios! Please, wake up!"

Slowly opening his eyes, Drake sees the camera man in front of him. "Huh? What?"

"We're now arriving at the Far East Branch."

"U-understood. Thank you."

The camera man nodded and walked into the cockpit. Drake looked out at the window, noticing the den's helipad at the bottom. A group of people were also there. A few persons were waving at him, eager to see him. Drake smiled down at them.

The helicopter descended onto the helipad. As it touched the ground, the interior gave a slight thump, while the rotor slowly stopped, until it became quiet. Drake noticed he was clutching onto the amulet during the ride, while he fell asleep. He hides it back into his pocket. He stands up, getting the case for his god arc, and places it in the case. While closing it, the pilot and camera man appear from the cockpit. The pilot slid the door to the side, opening it. As they all moved out of the helicopter, the pilot closes the door.

"I have the recording of your battle with the aragami here in this camera." the camera man hands the camera to Drake.

"Ah, thank you. I'll take this to Doctor Sakaki."

The camera man nodded.

"Good work for today, lieutenant." said the camera man and pilot.

They gave a fellow salute in unison, and Drake did so too.

"Good work." said Drake.

"Drake!" called Kota.

Drake turned around to see Sakaki and the first unit. He was about to walk over to them, until Kota and Alisa ran into him and hugged him, as they were relieved by their leader's safety. Drake almost fell down as they tackled onto him.

"Thank god! You're okay!"

"Gah! Hey, you two! Be careful! I might drop the camera."

"Whoops, our bad."

Kota and Alisa let go of Drake, and smiled at him. Drake sheepishly laughs at them.

"Gotta say, you were amazing out there. I never thought you'd be able to actually fight that thing."

Kota gives a light punch on Drake's arm.

"Indeed. It's not every day a god eater defeats an all powerful aragami on their own." added Alisa.

Sakaki, Soma, Lindow, and Sakuya joins the three.

"Welcome back, leader." beamed Lindow.

"Glad to be back. Oh, by the way Sakaki, here's the camera that one of the pilots gave me."

Drake handed Sakaki the camera.

"Oh, thank you, Drake. This will be greatly helpful for other god eaters. Once I'm done looking into this, I'll change the data profile on the Dyaus Pita on NORN. Your speed was really quite a show too."

"My...speed?" Drake was perplexed by that statement.

"The camera wasn't able to properly process the image of you moving around. You were mostly a blur. Well, except when you were blocking those attacks." laughed Sakuya.

"O-oh..Did the recording miss the attacks I inflicted?"

"Not so. Every time you stopped at the Dyaus Pita's front legs, the image of you was clear as crystal. So, the camera was able to record you aiming at the weakness." explained Sakaki.

_Oh, that's a relief._

"Don't tell me you were expecting the camera to see a lightning fast person running around?" joked Soma.

Drake felt silly for not realizing his physical abilities as he smiled.

"First things first, I'll send you your payment for helping out and-"

Drake interrupted Sakaki, stopping him. "W-wait, Sakaki!"

"Yes?" Sakaki listened closer, curious by his answer.

"I was wondering if I could have a two-day break, as of now, instead of just receiving fenrir credits."

Everybody was puzzled by the odd request Drake gave. He never learned to stop and rest, as he was quite the workaholic. If he was even given the chance, he would use that time to train, or do paperwork on new aragami. It was quite unusual, especially for somebody like Drake. He simply stared at Sakaki, staying silent.

Sakaki simply smiled, "I don't mind. You can take a break."

Drake was taken aback by how it easy it was to ask.

"Y-you're not gonna ask why? I thought you would. And besides, isn't it difficult to schedule it, because of my rank?"

"Drake, you've been overworking yourself. You need to learn to rest every now and then, other wise it will degrade your work pace. Did you not notice it?"

"N-no, I have. I know my work pace because everybody's always telling me _not _to over work myself. I'm just asking why you're agreeing so easily." Drake nervously looked down.

"Did you notice your face?"

"What?"

Sakaki moved closer to Drake, getting close to his face. Drake became a little irked as he did.

"Your face is pale; what's more, I can see faint dark circles under your eyes."

"What?!" Alisa shuffled over to Drake, and held his face close to hers.

She further examined his face. Drake blushed slightly.

"A-Alisa, what are you-?"

_It's true. He's exhausted._

Drake moved his face away from Alisa, embarrassed by how close she is.

"You see?" pointed Sakaki. "Tsubaki and I were just about to schedule your break and you definitely need it. A two-day break should be more than enough. I'll take care of the rest from here on in. For now, you should head to your room."

"But...What about the workload?"

"Just have doc divide it among the remaining first unit. There hasn't been any change with the aragami lately." suggested Soma.

Overhearing Soma, Drake started to become unsure. He started to have mix feelings by this, even though he requested it. Drake began furrowing his eyebrows. _Even so, what about the others?_

Alisa noticed his expression, and says, "If you're worried about us, we'll be fine."

Drake became surprised, almost as if Alisa read his mind.

"We'll be fine. Just try to take it easy Drake." smiled Alisa.

He smiled in return. _Haha. That Alisa; she can read my face so easily. _"All right. I'm going head to my room and sleep. Thanks everyone."

"I should be thanking you, Drake." laughed Sakaki.

* * *

Drake places his god arc in its chamber. His eyes began to droop, including his head. He snaps himself to be awake just for a bit longer. Drake shakes his head, forcing himself to not collapse in the hangar. _Urgh, damn it. Sakaki's right. I need to rest. _He wanders to the hangar door, entering into the main hall. There a crowd of people greeted him, as they congratulated Drake.

_Oh no, I forgot about how everybody made such a big deal about this._

Everybody gave Drake a pat on the back, or said, "Congratulations!" or "You were amazing out there!" Some wanted to interview or talk to Drake about the mission. He couldn't keep up with the number of people talking to him all at once.

"Hold it right there everybody." called a young man.

He was wearing a red jacket, while another man beside him wore a blue one. It was Tatsumi and Brendan. They pass through the mob, and approached Drake; Tatsumi stood in front of them, while Brendan stood behind Drake. Brendan whispered to Drake,

"Let me and Tatsumi take care of this. You need to head to your room." chuckled Brendan. He placed his hands on Drake's back, while pushing him to the elevator.

"What? But how-"

"Director Sakaki told us, since things were chaotic at the end of your mission. Besides, we know how you're always working **all** the time."

"OK people, that's enough. If you wanna know more about the mission, head to the director." as Tatsumi announced that, he gave a thumbs-up to Brendan and Drake.

Brendan returned it, while Drake smiled.

"Go to your room." as he said that, Brendan gave a final push to Drake.

He stumbled onto the elevator and looked back at Brendan. Drake gave a short wave, while Brendan grinned at him. _Thanks you two. _And with that, Drake opened the elevator. He stepped inside and pushed the button for the veteran's section. As the elevator opened, Drake stepped outside, and wandered to the door of his room. Before opening it, he takes out the golden amulet. _The day after tomorrow, will be here. I'll need to see if I can find some incense in the outer ghetto._

Drake opens the amulet, revealing a picture of a woman. Her long dark brown hair tied in a side ponytail fluttered about in the picture, while the gentle sunshine gleamed on her smiling face. Her pale-blue eyes hypnotized Drake. He glances at the backside of the lid, beside the picture. Small letters were engraved.

_Happy birthday Cain_

_May 17 1999_

He continued staring at the amulet._ ...Close it, you damn fool._

And so he did. Drake opened the door, and stepped into his room, locking the door behind him.

* * *

_IN THE HANGAR..._

"Hey doc!" called Kota.

"Yes Kota?" answered Sakaki.

"Is everybody's schedule open for the day after tomorrow?"

"It is, Kota, it is." chuckled Sakaki.

"This is going to be one heck of a birthday party for Drake." laughed Lindow.

"I wonder what he likes, though. We still haven't gotten his gift. Hey Soma, do you know anything Drake would like?" asked Sakuya.

"Can't say I do..." shrugged Soma.

Alisa, who is listening to everybody's conversation, became baffled.

"Wait, Drake's birthday is almost here?"

Sakuya, who heard Alisa's question, says, "Did Kota not tell you?"

"Tell me what exactly?"

"Ah, seems like he didn't. See Drake's birthday is coming up, which is 2 days from now. Kota asked doctor Sakaki to hold a party for him."

"What?!...Drake... never told me that his birthday is almost here." wondering why, Alisa looked down on the floor.

"He didn't?"

Alisa shook her head. "No. By the way, how did Kota find out?" _Since Kota planned this, he must be the one who knew before anybody else._

"He said he found a calendar, lying on Drake's table in his room, when he was watching Bugarally with Drake. It was a week before, and he found that May 17 was marked. It said birthday."

"But how can he tell that's actually Drake's?" Alisa glanced at Kota.

Kota, overhearing the girls, proudly grins, "I know that guy better than anybody else. Knowing him, he probably tried to keep it a secret."

Alisa gave him a doubtful look.

"It's true!"

_That's true... Drake can be secretive at times... OK, I should find a present for him, and I should hurry, I don't have much time._

"Anyways, make sure to be ready everybody."_  
_

Everybody nods at Kota's words.

* * *

End of Chapter 4: Bitter Feelings


	5. Chapter 5: Rising Ruin

An alarm resounded in his room. The annoying beeping he hears, made him lazily punch the 'off' button. He groaned, cursing at himself for not turning off the scheduled alarm. _Great, now I'm wide awake. I've gotten too used to this routine. _He gets up from bed, sitting on the edge, while scratching his dark blue hair.

Drake yawns, and looks out his window. The morning sunlight engulfs his window, making it light the interior of his room. He looks back on his alarm clock. The screen shows, 10:22 A.M. _Exactly how long was I asleep? _Drake rubs his sleepy eyes; he stands up and opens his dresser, grabbing his usual dark purple jacket, along with his black and white slits. He heads outside his room, and trudges to the elevator.

Still dazed by his sleepiness, he opens the elevator, and as he stepped inside, Drake pushes the button for the laboratory. _Need a shower. _he thought.

* * *

After finishing, Drake stands in front of a mirror and adjusts his clothing. Satisfied with his preparations, he leaves the shower room. As he stands in front of the elevator, waiting for it to arrive, a woman's voice came into his ears.

"Good morning, Drake."

Her noticeable pink hair and green dress came into Drake's line of vision, as she stood beside him.

"Morning, Kanon." greeted Drake.

"Slept in a little, huh? I heard from the others that you were really exhausted yesterday."

"Ah, well you know me. I'm the workaholic type." Drake sheepishly laughed.

"Speaking of which, what do you plan to do today? Don't tell me you plan to train or do paperwork."

"Hm? Oh, no. I'm going to the outer ghetto to buy some things."

Kanon was little taken aback by his answer. "Really? Why's that?"

"I plan to go visit someone, in the near future. I haven't been able to because I've been so busy."

"Your friend felt lonely?" joked Kanon.

As he heard that, Drake gave a bit of a painful smile. He sighed wistfully, in a more quiet voice, "In a sense..."

Kanon noticed the look he gave. "Drake?"

Realizing the sudden change in his behavior, Drake changes the subject of the conversation. "By the way, Kanon, how's gun practice?"

"Urgh, don't ask me that..." she said gloomily.

_ Clumsy as ever, Kanon._ He smiled at her,"Then, how about I give you some tips on the way?"

"Really?!" Kanon eyes began to shine at Drake, as she is eager to listen to his advice.

Drake nods at her. The elevator door opened, and they walk inside. Drake pushed the button for the main hall. As they wait for their destination, Drake gives advice and directions to Kanon about what to do when shooting. The doors open, and they step out.

"So, I should try aiming a bit off of the enemy?"

"Yeah, because you mainly use radial bullets, the damage radius they give is much larger. Aiming directly would increase the chance of misfire to an ally; so go the opposite of where the ally is. Say for example, if they are on the right of the enemy, aim a bit to the left. If they're in the air, aim above them."

Kanon nods at Drake, as she continues to listen to the short lecture.

"I see... I'll try it out, Drake. Thanks."

"Glad I could help. Anyways, I gotta get going. I'll see you later."

Drake turns around and waves at Kanon. She waved back at him, and watched him head to the lower level of the main hall. Just as he left, Alisa and Sakuya appear on the opposite side of the stairs.

"Hi Kanon. Have you seen Drake? Me and Alisa have been looking for him." said Sakuya.

"Oh, he just left to the lower level of the main hall."

The girls overhear a man's voice.

"Morning, Hibari."

"Good morning, Drake." greeted the red-haired receptionist.

Alisa walks to the stairs. As she was about to go down the stairs, she stopped by Hibari's question to him.

"Where are you going, Drake?"

"I plan to go to the outer ghetto. I need to go buy some things."

"Hm..." _Come to think of it, Drake's birthday is tomorrow... Alisa just asked me if he wants anything, though, I don't know that. I should ask him. _"Hey Drake..."

"Yeah?"

_Oh wait, I should be indirect about it. Kota's making it a surprise. _"Is there anything you would wish for?"

Alisa couldn't help but overhear that question. She began listening closer on their conversation. Sakuya and Kanon became curious by Alisa's strange behavior. They followed her.

"Alisa, what are you doing?" asks Sakuya.

Alisa turns to the girls. She places her finger over her lip, and points to Drake and Hibari. Sakuya and Kanon followed their gazes to where she was pointing. Catching the silver-haired Russian girl's short gestures, they awkwardly follow her actions.

"You mean if there's anything I'd want? Something that I would like the most?"

"Yeah."

Soon, Sakuya and Kanon started listening closer as well.

Drake tries to think what he would he want, but became unsure. "I don't really want anything..."

Hibari tries again. "Oh, don't be so modest, Drake. Surely there's something; something that you would wish for."

Drake becomes lost in thought, as he contemplates his answer.

"Well, there is one thing I'd want."

Hibari eagerly asks, "Which is?"

"I'd actually like to spend some peace and quiet alone with Alisa." grins Drake.

Alisa eyes bulged. Her face suddenly became hot, showing slight pink hues on her cheeks. _What?..._

Sakuya, seeing her best friend's expression, starts to give a cat-like smile. "So that's Drake wants for his birthday..." whispered Sakuya. She nudges her elbow at Alisa's arm.

"W-w-why are you giving me that look?" Alisa started to panic, as she turned to Sakuya.

Hibari started to enjoy where this conversation turned.

"Really? You'd want something like that?" Hibari said slyly. _Maybe I should talk about this with Sakuya. It'd be amusing to see their reactions._

"You're not thinking some sort of plan about me and Alisa, are you?"

"N-no... What are you talking about?" lied Hibari, as she was surprised by how sharp he was.

_Liar, I can tell by your nervous face. _He thought. _Since she's probably going to do something like that, maybe I should respond with something like this, to surprise her. _"Then I"ll leave that planning to you." laughed Drake.

Hibari was startled by those last words Drake said. "Wait, what?"

Alisa flinched. Her jaw dropped, while her head tried to process Drake's statement. _Wait, what did Drake say?_

"If you got some sort of plan to get me and Alisa alone, I'll let you do that." Drake gave a devious smile at Hibari.

All the ladies in the room were at a loss of words by that. It was as if Drake killed the relaxing atmosphere the main hall contained in one shot. Absolute silence filled the room. Alisa's face transitioned to a dangerous deep shade of red. Her mind became blank, and her heart couldn't stop pounding, as Drake allowed something outrageous. Hibari, still shocked, breaks the cold air, hesitantly asking,

"You...would...actually...allow...me..to..."

Drake nodded. All the while, he smiled like it was nothing. "Just try not to over do it, Hibari. Knowing Alisa, she might pass out."

_WhatdoyoumeanbythatDrake?! Whatdoyoumean?! Do you even know what you're saying?! _Alisa's head exploded with thoughts, as she silently demanded Drake's motives.

Hibari didn't know what to say to Drake. This time, he broke the dead air.

"Anyways, I gotta get going. If anybody asks where I am, tell them I'm in the outer ghetto. See you." Drake waved and left. As he stepped out, the entrance's doors closed behind him. The girls were still appalled by the sudden bold words of Drake. Sakuya turned to Alisa, who merely stared at the doors where Drake left.

"Alisa?" she said nervously.

All of sudden, Alisa fainted, and fell down, face flushed as a red tomato.

"Alisa!" cried out Sakuya.

* * *

The bright sunlight shined down on Drake's body. He placed his hand over his eyes and squinted, covering the glare. He walks away from the Far East Branch, stepping into the outer ghetto. Buildings with different parts of rusted metal surrounded him, while a scarce number of people wander through the streets. As Drake traversed down the street, a few eyes were darted at him.

Most stared at the heavy red armlet around his right wrist. Some gave him a suspicious look, others gave distance to him as he walked by. Drake felt the heavy stares, and started to become uncomfortable. He reminds himself that Kota tends to leave the den from time to time, to visit his family. _How does Kota go around in the outer ghetto? This is so awkward... _As Drake continues trudging through, a woman's voice calls out to him.

"Excuse me..."

Drake almost yelped and swiveled around. A woman with long reddish-brownish hair was holding hands with a young girl. The child had the same hair color as the woman; however, what got Drake's attention the most was their faces; they looked oddly similar to somebody else's, but Drake couldn't put his finger on it as to why.

"Are you Drake Galios, by any chance?" the woman asked.

Drake nervously stammered, "Uh... Y-yes. M-my name is Drake Galios."

The woman's face brightened. "Oh, so you're the one that my son has been talking about all this time."

"Your...son?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I haven't even introduce myself. My name is Haruna Fujiki. This is my daughter, Nozomi Fujiki. We're Kota's family."

_Kota's family?_ echoed Drake._ No wonder their faces look familiar, they remind of him. _"I-I see."

"Is this your first time here in the outer ghetto?"

"Uh..." Drake became uneasy as she continued to converse with him.

Haruna Fujiki, noticing the nervousness in Drake's voice, reassures him. "Do not worry. We only wish to talk to you. We actually admire the god eaters and their courageous activities they have done for the civilians."

"O-oh, OK. And to, uh, answer your question, no, I'm familiar with the outer ghetto. It just, it's almost been a year, since I last stayed here in these parts. I live at the Far East Branch, and almost never leave on my own just to come back here."

"Haha. It seems that you might have a difficult time going around the outer ghetto. Would you like me to accompany you?"

"Actually, that'd be great. Do you know any shops here that sell incense and flowers?"

"I believe so. There should be one that sells flowers down the street, to the left. Let's go."

They made their way to the flower shop. As they did, they talked about Kota, the events that happen at their home, and what it's like living there as of now.

"So you're big bro's best friend?" asked Nozomi.

"Yeah, I am. Kota's a real great guy to have around, trust me." Drake chuckled as he talked about his most trusted friend.

"My son is always talking about his adventures with you and the others. He especially looks up to you. How you're always doing so many things for others, or about your battles in the front-lines. He even told me about what you did yesterday."

"He...did? Wait, if he told you, he must have overreact on some parts of the story."

Mrs. Fujiki chuckled at that. "He did. In fact, he was quite passionate as he told the story to Nozomi." Mrs. Fujiki smiled as she looked down on Nozomi. She looked back at Drake. "How is Kota?"

"Cheerful and energetic as ever. He's really helpful in battle; I can't count how many times that guy saved me."

"I'm glad to hear that. Kota always comes home with so many stories to tell, and he always look so happy when he does. I'm also really happy that he's okay, being in the Far East Branch." smiled Mrs. Fujiki.

The three arrived in front of the flower store; as Drake opened the door, a bell chimed. The fresh scent of different flowers hung in the air, individual colors of plants surrounded the walls, as they were presented in the most aesthetic way. Bouquets, potted plants, even some plants were organized in a wreath.

"My, I have never seen plants like these. These must be grown with high amounts of care." Mrs. Fujiki became entranced by the beauty the flowers held. It felt like a dream just by walking around.

_So many flowers._ thought Drake._ I wonder..._

"Why hello there." the store clerk came from behind the curtains.

He stood in front of a table that had two touch-screen computers. One faced him, while the other faced the direction of the customer. This was normal for all stores, as the fenrir credits were paid digitally. The store clerk gave Drake a suspicious look, and stared at his red armlet for a few seconds. He cast it aside, and faced his customers.

"How may I help you?" the store clerk gave his business smile to them.

Drake approached the store clerk. "Do you happen to have a small band of forget-me-not?"

"Why yes, we do. How many do you need, sir?"

"Just one."

"Allow me to get that for you."

Drake nodded, and the store clerk walked to the curtains, entering the back. Mrs. Fujiki was bit intrigued by Drake's choice in flowers. She wondered as to how he knew such a specific flower.

"Mr. Galios." she said.

"Please, me call Drake. It feels awkward when people use formalities on me." he laughed.

"Ah, all right then. Drake, how do you know a forget-me-not?"

"Someone I knew shared this random knowledge about this flower with me." he answered.

"Hey, mom? What's a forget-me-not?" asked Nozomi, as she tugged on Mrs. Fujiki's sleeve.

She began explaining the forget-me-not to Nozomi. As Mrs. Fujiki did, the store clerk returned, holding a small band of forget-me-not.

"That will be 450 fenrir credits, sir."

Drake turned to the computer.

_PLEASE ENTER YOUR 4 DIGIT ACCOUNT NUMBER._

A number pad appeared on the screen. Following the directions, Drake entered his account number.

_DRAKE GALIOS, CONFIRMED. PLEASE ENTER YOUR PIN NUMBER TO TRANSFER CREDITS._

As the payment for the small band of forget-me-not appeared, Drake confirmed it.

"Thank you for patronage." said the store clerk.

"And thank you for the flowers."

Drake turned back to Mrs. Fujiki and Nozomi.

"And that's what a forget-me-not is." said Mrs. Fujiki, as she finished her explanation.

"Mrs. Fujiki, do you need anything here? I'm already done buying the flower I need."

"Oh, no. I don't need anything here. I doubt I could trust myself in taking care of a plant." Mrs. Fujiki laughed sheepishly.

Drake chuckled at that. They moved to the door, exiting the store. As they came out, Mrs. Fujiki curiously wandered her line of vision on Drake. She asked him,

"Drake, if you don't mind telling me, why are you buying flowers?"

Drake became a little taken aback by that question. He felt unprepared as to what he will answer.

"...You...could... say they're a present for a woman..." Drake cast his eyes away from Mrs. Fujiki, looking down on the ground.

"A woman?" she repeated. "Are they for... Alisa, was it? I heard from Kota by how close you two are." she cocked her head.

"Alisa? No, it's not her. I'd give her something special, instead of just going with some sort of retro styled gift. These flowers are for somebody else..."

"I see..." Mrs. Fujiki sensed some loneliness by the tone of his voice. "Oh! By the way, you said needed incense, right?"

Drake nodded. She pointed to a stand in front of them. Incense were laid out on the table of the stand, along with the same touch-screen computer. Drake approached the stand, examining the incense. Most were long, thin wooden sticks, while a few were in pots, or decorative containers. An old man was crouched down on the floor, organizing the boxes of incense.

"Excuse me," called Drake. The old man turned his head to him. "I'd like to buy these few sticks of incense please."

The old man stood up, while his legs shook a little as he rose. He slowly walked to Drake. "Would you like a pot with that, sir?"

"A small round one will do."

As the old man searched for a small round pot underneath the table, he placed it. Grabbing around 4 sticks of incense, he filled the pot with it.

"Will that be all, sir?"

Drake nodded, and the old man confirmed the pay on the computer. Drake payed for the two items, while the old man retrieved a plastic bag. He filled the bag with the incense and pot; as he finished, Drake took the bag.

"Thank you." said Drake.

He turned back to Mrs. Fujiki and Nozomi, who were behind him.

"I must say though, Drake, the items you have bought are quite unusual." Mrs. Fujiki wondered at Drake's items again.

She was about ask why he would buy these kind of gifts, until Nozomi tugged at her sleeve.

"Mom, I'm getting hungry."

"Ah, right, we needed to buy some groceries."

"I should head back to the Far East Branch." responded Drake.

"Will you be OK on you're own?" the concern in her voice was obviously noticeable.

Drake simply smiled at her, reassuring her anxiety of his safety in the streets. "I'll be fine, Mrs. Fujiki. Don't worry about me. The Far East Branch isn't far from here, once I head back. I have to thank you for accompanying me here in the streets. It was a great pleasure to meet you. You too, Nozomi."

"Let's play, when we see each other again." she said cheerfully.

"Have a safe walk on your way back, Drake. And please, continue taking care of Kota."

They all smiled to each other, and parted ways. As they did, they waved, going the opposite directions to their home. Drake happily ambled down the street, ignoring and not caring the few eyes that were directed at him.

* * *

Her vision was fuzzy. As she slowly opened her eyes, a white background came into her vision. The smell of disinfectant tickled her nose, while a woman's voice faintly entered her ears. _Where am I?... _she thought.

"Alisa?...Alisa. Hey, are you awake?"

The woman's voice slowly became clearer. Alisa focused her gaze on the woman beside her. As she did, her recognizable medium-short black hair came into Alisa's vision.

"Sakuya?..." she mumbled.

"Thank goodness, you're OK." Sakuya sighed with relief.

Alisa looked around her, wondering where she is. She finds that she is in the sick bay, and is currently lying in bed; however, she does not recall of what led to her in being here.

"What happened?" she sat up, baffled as to why she is here.

"You don't remember? You passed out in the main hall and had heat stroke."

"Heat stroke?" she repeated. Thinking as to why, Alisa suddenly remembers.

_If you got some sort of plan to get me and Alisa alone, I'll let you do that._

Her face started to heat up again.

"O-oh. That's why..." Alisa trailed off on her sentence.

Sakuya, catching what Alisa is thinking, snickered at her best friend's bashfulness.

"I can't believe Drake managed to make you faint like that. I never knew how daring he is in wanting to get closer to you." teased Sakuya.

Alisa face became more noticeably red. Not only did she felt embarrassed, she felt angry at the same time, cursing at Drake's insensitivity. She looks down on her lap, shying away from Sakuya's eyes.

*sigh* "Why does he always say things like that?" brooded Alisa.

"Maybe I should help out Hibari." smirked Sakuya.

"Don't make things worse!" she scowled. Casting that aside, Alisa asks, "How long was I asleep?"

"About 30 minutes. After you passed out, me and Kanon brought you here. How do you feel, Alisa?"

"A little lethargic. But I'll be fine." Alisa moved out of bed, sitting on the edge. "Drake already left, right?"

"Yeah, he did."

The girls hear someone knocking at the door. They both turned their heads to the door.

"The door's open. You can come in." called Sakuya.

The door hissed, sliding to the side by itself. A figure came into the sick bay, however, the figure just happened to be-

"Arrrrrrgh!" yelled Alisa.

Her jaw dropped.

His dark clothing came into the girls' view. While his spiky dark-blue hair popped into the room, he turned his scarlet-colored eyes to Sakuya and Alisa.

"Alisa, there you are."

_Of all the people who just had to come in! _"D-d-d-d-Drake?! W-w-w-why are you here? I thought you were in the outer ghetto!" she shouted.

"I just needed to buy some items. Didn't take me that long because I only needed two things. I heard from Hibari that you passed out in the main hall, right after I left. Are you all right?"

Drake wandered over to Alisa, oblivious to her anger. She jerked her head away from him, not wanting to look him in the eyes.

"Y-yes." growled Alisa._  
_

"Just what the heck happened to make you faint?"

Both the girls' thought, _That's because of you._

Sakuya spotted Drake's hand, seeing that he is holding a band of flowers. Curious, she asks Drake,

"Drake, what's with the flowers?"

As Alisa overheard Sakuya's question, she turned her head to Drake's hand, noticing the flowers as well.

"Oh, these? They're for a person I plan to give."

Alisa couldn't help but panic a little by that. She wondered as to why he would do something like this all of a sudden. Sakuya was bit surprised. She knew that Drake is not the type of person to give flowers to somebody.

"And who's the person you're giving it to?" asked Sakuya.

Drake stayed silent for a bit. "...I can't say the name, but it's for a woman." as he answered, there was a slight tone of meekness.

That last comment made the room go into a cold silence. Alisa was shocked as she heard that. Her racing thoughts began questioning Drake's actions, as she assumed the worst. Anxiety, loneliness, and sadness started to make Alisa feel heart-broken. Gloom loomed on her face, as she slowly drooped her head down. _Drake couldn't be... He wouldn't, would he?_

"Besides, my friend likes small flowers like these, so that's why I bought them for her." added Drake.

"Friend?" echoed Alisa, as she lifted her head and faced Drake.

"Yeah, my friend has an interest towards flowers. She's a bit of botanist."

"O-oh, I see." she exhaled in relief. _A friend, right a friend. What am I thinking? Drake would never do something like that!_

Drake stared at Alisa, watching her current expression. Alisa noticed that his gaze was locked on her.

"Is something the matter, Drake?"

"Hey, Alisa..."

"?"

Drake approached Alisa, having his face close to hers. Alisa felt her face getting hot again, as she became irked by the sudden closeness. Sakuya was entertained by the little scene, as she continued to watch the two new-types.

"Is it me, or is your face red? Do you have a fever?"

By pure instinct, Alisa lightly punched him in the face, pushing him away.

"Argh!"

"N-n-nothing's wrong, you idiot! I-I need to head to the reception desk!"

Alisa pushed Drake as she stood up from the bed, briskly leaving the sick bay. The room was now left to Sakuya and Drake, as the door hissed and closed itself.

"Ow." Drake rubbed his nose by the slight pain. "If she's got enough energy to yell at me, then I don't need to worry."

_Hm. I wonder... _"Drake, did you?..."

"Huh?"

"...Uh, you know what? Never mind."

_What was Sakuya about to ask me? _Puzzled by the dismissive response, Drake cast it aside. "Well, anyways, I'm going to head to my room. Thanks for taking care of Alisa, Sakuya."

"Y-yeah, glad I could help."

Drake left the sick bay, leaving Sakuya to herself.

_Did Drake knew what Alisa was thinking?_

* * *

_MEANWHILE...IN THE STREETS OF THE OUTER GHETTO..._

"Have you found any evidence on where our target left?"

"It seems he bought a few items as he wandered through the outer ghetto. I've wrote down the list, after asking the shop clerks."

"Hand me the list."

"..."

"..."

"So that's what he plans to do. He's planning to head **there**. And there's a good chance he'll be there tomorrow."

"What do you want us to do, sir?"

"We'll commence the plan to infiltrate the branch. On my signal, I want you activate the traps."

"Capito, maetsro."

* * *

End of Chapter 5: Rising Ruin


	6. Chapter 6: The Cruel Irony

He sat at the couch, just staring at the plastic bag. He was still, not thinking of anything, not moving. All he did is lock his scarlet-colored eyes at the plastic bag in front of him, completely tuned out. The same one he bought from yesterday. It felt like hours have passed by, as he stayed at his statue-like trance.

"..."

Breaking the stillness, Drake got up from the couch. Digging into his pocket, he pulls out his cell phone, checking the date and time. 'May 17 2071', '10:23' AM. _Today's the day. _thought Drake. _I woke up at 10:00, and haven't moved for a few minutes. I guess I'm still scared. _With a sorrowful sigh, he approached his dresser, pulling out the drawer. As his clothes appeared, Drake pulled out a dark-grey blazer, a dark-orange dress shirt, and dark-blue slacks. It was a fauna suit, accompanied with coral slacks.

Drake stacked his folded clothes and grabbed the plastic bag. He walked out of his room, and approached the elevator. As the doors opened, he stepped inside. Drake pushed the button for the laboratory. The elevator clanged and thumped as he stood there. The elevator stopped in front of the lab, and Drake stepped out. He trudged to the washroom, prepping himself.

* * *

"Hey, Soma! I need you to hold the ladder for me." said Kota.

Soma looked at Kota. A long white cloth lied down on the floor. Kota was holding one end of it.

"What are you holding?"

"It's a banner, wishing Drake a happy birthday. I'm going hang this in front of the hangar doors, so I want you to hold the ladder, while I put it up."

Soma gave a Kota a doubtful look, wondering when and how Kota got this.

"What's with that face?!"

"Whatever..."

Not caring about Kota's question, Soma follows Kota's request.

The main hall comprised almost all of the god eaters. They decorated the main hall, preparing for the lieutenant's birthday.

The coffee table was filled with presents for Drake; Tatsumi and Brendan were unfolding a table in front of a few terminals. Federico was holding a folded white tablecloth. He unfolded it, and spread it among the table.

The elevator dinged, and as the doors opened, Kanon, Gina, and Annette appeared. Annette was holding a pot filled with onion soup. Gina was holding two bags; one had paper plates and plastic utensils, the other had soft drinks. Kanon was pushing a cart. The top shelf held a cake, and a tray of meatloaf. The shelves underneath them were snacks.

The girls approached the table the guys just set up, and placed the food.

The hangar doors hissed, while Kota was still setting up the banner.

"Whoa! What's with this huge cloth?" cried Lindow. Karel and Shun were with him as well.

"Sorry, Lindow. I'm just setting the banner here. Listen, can you do the other end? There should be another ladder."

Lindow shrugged, and walked to the side of the banner, so as not to step on it. Karel and Shun followed pursuit as well.

All the god eaters happily chatted among themselves, as they continued with the preparations of the party.

All except one.

A lone girl, stood out, as she sat on the lower couches. Her pale-blue eyes stared in space, completely tuned out. She thought back to yesterday, remembering the time she passed out, and was carried to the sick bay. How **he **came to visit her. How his face was close to hers, and when he was clueless in his insensitivity. Alisa's face started to show slight pink hues on her cheeks.

_Ugh..Because of Drake, I wasn't able to concentrate in finding his gift. I was only able to buy a scarf, and couldn't get a special gift for him. I wasn't able to have a proper conversation with Hibari either._

Alisa sighed, still weary from yesterday's events. She turned her vision to a small red bag sitting beside her. She opened it, seeing the dark-blue scarf she got for him yesterday. Another thought crossed her head.

_How am I supposed to give him this, after what happened yesterday?!_

"What's with that conflicted face, Alisa?"

Alisa turned her head to Sakuya. She was standing on the stairs, amused by Alisa's face. Sakuya approached her and says,

"I see you're having a hard time on how give Drake's gift."

"I can't even look him in the eye anymore. I doubt he'll even receive it, ever since I punched him." Alisa said gloomily.

"Well, I'm sure he'll accept it, either way. Still, though, I'm sure he'd be more than happy if you gave him his preferred gift."

Alisa stayed silent, as Sakuya continued to tease her. She began to wonder on how she would present Drake's so-called, 'preferred gift.'

"Why not give him a surprise kiss?" said a woman's voice behind Alisa.

"AAH!" yelped Alisa. She swiveled, seeing Hibari behind her. "H-Hibari! Wait...What did you say?"

"Hey, that'd be a perfect gift for Drake. Though, there's another problem with that..."

"Right..."

Both the girls trailed off their sentences, and pivoted their heads to Alisa. They stared at her, and as Alisa studied their faces, she began to blush even harder.

"W-wait! Y-you're not seriously expecting me to go and!..." Alisa stammered as she couldn't produce the word they expected her to say.

"Well, you are difficult at times." Hibari bluntly said to her.

That stabbed Alisa's heart a little. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING DIFFICULT?!" she yelled.

"Hey, girls!" interrupted a voice.

It was Kota. He popped his head out of the upper couches.

"I'm about to send Drake a text. We need everybody to yell 'surprise!' at him once he comes in. So get ready!"

"Okay, Kota." smiled Sakuya.

She switched her vision back to Alisa, who still a showed a frowning expression. Sakuya pulled Alisa's ear close to her face. She whispers,

"For the kiss, maybe you can sneak one by stealing his lips."

As soon Sakuya mentioned that, Alisa began to imagine her and Drake. Their lips pressed against the other, as they embraced. Their arms tightly wrapped the back of the partner, as they continued to pull their bodies closer and closer. Drake slowly moved his head a bit, trying to get a better angle of the kiss; Alisa shivered as his soft lips gently pressed against hers.

Alisa started flailing her arms at Sakuya, as she jerked away from her. She wanted to stop the crazy imagination going through her head. She wanted to talk back at Sakuya, but couldn't. Alisa's face felt as if it was steaming, panicking at the bold words Sakuya said. Her face appeared to be a dangerous deep shade of red.

Sakuya giggled at Alisa's flushed face, while Hibari is amused by the new-type's reaction. The two left Alisa alone, as they walked to the stairs.

Alisa slowly dropped her head down, staring at the floor. The silver-haired Russian was still blushing furiously at the recent suggestion. Without noticing, Alisa had a few of her fingers on her lips. She shook her head, trying to cast it aside.

_I'm just going to give Drake this scarf! That's all there is to it!_

Alisa grabbed the red bag, and ran upstairs.

* * *

He holds the very dark-grey blazer with his hands, hesitant to put it on. With a defeated face, he reluctantly slipped his arms into the sleeves; as he did, Drake pulled out the collar of his dress shirt, fixing it.

He looked himself in the mirror; all dressed up and ready. He dig into his pocket, bringing out the small golden amulet. Unlocking the tiny hook of the chain, Drake wrapped the amulet around his neck.

He examined the mirror again. The small golden amulet was perfectly centered on his neck, visible to all those who see it. The amulet faintly glistened under the room's lights. Drake took another few second of staring at his reflection. As he did, he felt an object vibrate in his pocket. He pulled out his phone, receiving a text from Kota.

_Drake, can u come over 2 the entrance? There's someone here 2 c u._

Drake text back, _c me? Who is it?_

_Just come on over 2 the main hall. They wanna c u in person._

Drake became puzzled by the sudden call. He began to wonder who it might be. _Just who is it, though?_

Shrugging it off, he took the plastic bag that was lying on the floor. Drake opened it, finding the incense and small flowers. After a quick glance, Drake walked outside of the bathroom, and headed to the main hall.

* * *

Kota watched the floor indicator on the elevator. The light gradually moved from the 'laboratory' to 'entrance.'

"Get ready everyone! He's here!"

Everybody set their eyes on the elevator. It dinged, and the doors slid themselves aside. The wanted guest ambled out of the elevator.

"SURPRISE!" they all shouted.

Drake's eyes bulged; he flinched a little by the loud voices, and clenched his amulet. He vigorously pivoted his head, trying to get a look of his surroundings. As he did, he tightly held his amulet, never letting go of it.

"What the..." Drake trailed off his sentence.

Kota first approached him, all the while grinning.

"Happy birthday, pal!"

"Kota?! What...did...you and everybody else..."

"Today's your birthday, man! Me and the others just set up the party for ya."

Drake turned his head to the banner in front of the hangar doors. Still shocked, he asked,

"How did you..."

"Your calender showed today's date your birthday." explained Kota.

As Drake heard that, he glared at the banner. Under his dark-blue bangs, his eyes held a cold, merciless feel; the determined and confident look dissipated, shifting to an empty, dead cast. Drake silently gritted his teeth, seething at the banner.

Alisa recognized the angered stare. Her heart sank at the icy gaze. She felt a slight chill by the very sight. Her mind turned blank, and she became silent.

The frown he showed, may as well be used to assassinate someone.

Drake lowered his head, glancing at the floor.

"What do you think?" asked Kota.

He did not spot the sudden change on his face. Nor, did everybody else. Alisa was about to run to Drake, until he lifted his head again. His eyes underneath the bangs, showed itself again.

"Haha! Pretty impressive. Let me guess. **You, **my friend, came up with this surprise idea." laughed Drake.

Kota beamed at Drake's smile. Alisa, however, showed a dumbfounded face.

_What was that? _she thought. _Just now, that glare...Was that a hallucination, or was that really Drake?_

Alisa continued staring at Drake, still shocked by his current face. This time, Drake noticed her startled expression. He smiled, as if nothing happened.

"Something the matter, Alisa?"

Snapping out of her statue-like trance, she shook her head, answering,

"O-oh! Uh...It's nothing." _I must have been imagining things._

"By the way, Drake..."

"Hm?"

Alisa pointed her finger to Drake's hand. He still latched his hand to the amulet.

"What's that you're clutching in your hand?"

Drake moved his head down to his hand. His eyes became wider, as he was late in realizing that he was holding onto his amulet.

"T-this? It's just a piece of jewelry." he nervously smiled.

"What kind is it, Drake?" asked Lindow.

"I...can't tell you."

Drake places the plastic bag on the floor. While still holding the amulet, he unhooks the chain, having it fall down from his neck. Drake stuffs the amulet into his pocket, hiding it.

"More importantly, what's with your clothing, man?" asked Kota.

"What, these?" Drake pointed at himself.

Kota nodded at him.

"You're not the type of guy to suddenly wear dress clothing."

"I just feel like it."

"But, I hate thought you hated that stuff."

Drake looked away from Kota. "D-did I, now?"

"Well, yeah. Remember during the wedding? You kept on grumbling on how it was tough to move around in those clothes."

"Uh...well...m-m-most of my other clothes are in the laundry. I-I barely use this thing, so this is the only outfit I can u-use." he sheepishly stammered.

Alisa stared at Drake in wonder. _What's with Drake all of a sudden? He's acting fidgety._

"A-anyways, I'm not wearing this because I want to. I'm only wearing this because most of my clothing are in the laundry."

"If you say so. You don't look too half too bad in that." commented Kota.

"Y-yeah. Thanks."

"Well, let's get this party started!" shouted Kota, as he pumped his fist into the air.

Drake laughed at Kota's enthusiasm. He became amused by the energy he showed, and so was everybody else. Alisa however, continued focusing her vision on Drake. She was still bewildered by the odd behavior he showed. Instead of truthfully smiling, he looked more nervous and unsettled. She thought back to the murderous face he showed. Just imaging it again in her head made her anxious.

Alisa tried to ignore the glare, and not mind about it too much.

* * *

Hours passed as the god eaters continued partying. They chatted amongst each other, laughing and smiling at the conversations. Lindow, however, was a little more louder compared to the others.

"Whooo! Happy birthday, Drake! Exactly how old are you?"

"E-eighteen, Lindow."

"Hey, you're the same age as Soma!" Lindow jabbed his thumb at Soma.

"Will you be quiet, Lindow? You're more obnoxious than Kota here." he growled.

"Hey, who are you calling obnoxious?"

"Idiot, I just said it was you."

"Hey now. Not another fight you two."

Drake spotted a metal can in Lindow's hand.

"Oh, he brought some beer. That explains why he's so loud."

"Wait, what?!" Sakuya overhead Drake's comment.

She walked over to him, and examined his face. It was slightly pink on the cheeks. He gave a giddy grin to her.

"Hey-o, Sakuya."

"Lindow! You're not supposed to drink on Drake's birthday!"

"It's cool, Sakuya. Don't worry about it. We here to enjoy ourselves, so it's fine." beamed Drake.

"Are you sure? This is your birthday after all..."

"Don't worry about it. Just try to prevent Lindow from over drinking. So long as he doesn't drink too much, it's fine."

Sakuya slowly smiled at Drake, as she was happy with him being okay with it.

"Well, since you're a-okay with it, why don't we reward you in this special day."

"Reward? Wait you don't mean..."

Lindow points to the coffee table full of presents.

"Uh..That's a lot of presents." _How am I supposed to bring these back to my room? _"Thanks, you guys."

"Speaking of presents, I believe Alisa has a special one for you." added Sakuya.

Drake turned his head to where she was. Alisa was standing at the table, drinking. As she overheard Sakuya's voice, she almost spit out her drink. She quickly placed her cup on the table, and covered her mouth with a handkerchief, wiping it.

_Too soon, Sakuya! Too soon! _she panicked.

Hibari was beside her, grinning evilly. "Let's give the man he wants, shall we?" she sees Alisa's present on the floor, and pushes it to her chest.

Alisa suddenly became red-faced. "W-wait! Hibari!"

Without listening to Alisa's plea, she pushes Alisa towards Drake. Her shoes skid the floor, trying to stop Hibari from pushing. However, Hibari continued onward. As the girls arrive in front of him, Alisa suddenly turned stiff. She shyly handed her present to Drake.

"H-happy birthday, Drake..."

Drake examined Alisa's blushing face for a few seconds. He smiled gently at her, receiving the present.

"Thank you, Alisa. May I open it?"

"Y-yes, you can."

Drake opened the red bag and peeked inside. His smile grew wider as he saw the scarf.

"Thank you, Alisa, I love it."

"Really? Well, I'm glad you-"

Alisa was interrupted by Sakuya standing behind Drake. Her face darkened, as Sakuya held out her hands, in front of Drake's back. Alisa shook her head violently, silently telling her,

_Don't do it! Don't do it!_

Drake detected his protege's odd gestures.

"What's wrong, Alisa?"

"N-nothing! Nothing at all!" she protested.

Sakuya gave a scheming grin. She looked over to Hibari, standing behind Alisa.

They both nodded, and at the same time, they pushed the two new-types.

Their faces came close; in an instant, Drake pointed his head skyward, gazing at the ceiling. Alisa, however, stumbled onto Drake's chest; her face was buried in it. The redness on her face darkened, her head was pounding heavily, and her heart exploded. A sweet scent entered her nose, as she came in contact with Drake's chest. Alisa fumbled, as she pushed herself away from Drake.

"S-sorry!" she yelled.

Drake chuckled at Alisa's nervousness. "It's okay. I tripped a little as well."

Alisa pouted at Sakuya, angered at the push. She jerked her head towards Hibari, giving the same expression. They both smiled like it was nothing.

_*BANG*_

"What was that?" said Kota.

"Sounded like it came from the table." answered Drake, as he pointed it.

Everybody diverted their attention to the table. Kota and Soma approached it, investigating what the sudden noise was all about. They found that part of the table-cloth had black ash, scattered about. A burning smell hung in the air. The white color all of sudden became a black surface.

"Looks like something exploded here. It looks pretty tiny." explained Soma.

Turning sober from the small blast, Lindow repeated, "An explosion? Let me see the table, it might have others."

Advancing to the table, Lindow examined the table. He inspected both the top and bottom, trying to find the source of the sound. After examining the bottom part, he dropped the table cloth, letting hang on the table. He shook his head, saying,

"There's nothing. I can't find anything."

"What caused that, anyway?" asked Hibari.

"Hell if I know. The table's clean, can't find anything. Soma, did you hear anything out of the ordinary, before the little blast?"

"No, I didn't."

"Then what the heck was that?" asked Kota, as he repeated Hibari's question.

Lindow shrugged, unable to answer.

"Hey, Alisa..." Sakuya patted Alisa's shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Where's Drake?"

"What?"

Alisa searched the upper main hall, as she constantly moved her vision, left to right. Drake was nowhere to be found.

_Where did he?..._

In the distance, on the lower main hall, the sound of the entrance's doors hissed loudly. Alisa ran to the stairs; there, she saw Drake, leaving the den. The doors closed, as soon she found him. Sakuya followed her.

"Where is he?"

"He...left. To the outer ghetto."

"What? Why? And at a time like this?"

"I...don't know." Alisa gazed back at the table. She directed her vision back to Sakuya. "I'll go after him. You and the others try to figure out what happened. If there's nothing serious, just continue the party."

"Alright." Sakuya nodded at Alisa.

Alisa stepped down the stairs, heading outside to the outer ghetto. The bright sunlight shined down on her face; she squinted her eyes from the golden light. Her vision gradually became clear, from the sudden flash. As the doors hissed and closed behind her, she found Drake, running down the street.

_Where's Drake going? _she thought.

Alisa ran after him, suspicious of Drake's peculiar behavior.

"Drake!" she called.

The leader still ran, not hearing Alisa's voice. She tried again.

"Drake, wait!"

Still, he kept on running. Alisa decided to speed up her pace, in order to keep up with him. Running through the streets, Drake at times made a right; he sometimes made a left as well. Going straight, jumping over a few short fences, running down a few short alley ways, Drake weaved his way through. Alisa could hardly keep up with his speed, as he was too fast. The gap between them slowly grew wider and wider. She started breathing heavily, and began to slow down.

_He's too fast. I won't be able to catch him at this rate._

All of a sudden, Drake came to a stop. On his left, was another alley way. He entered it, while Alisa watched him. She followed where he just recently disappeared to. There, she found a fence, blocking the alley way. She climbed over the fence, still going in pursuit of him. The alley way had a few right-angled turns, forcing Alisa to go through the one way path.

She finally got out of the alley way, entering into a huge open area.

The ground had a few bits and patches of grass, while there were some spots that were droughts. A roof sheltered the area. It was a round-like dome, constructed with different individual metal sheets or boards. Small gaps between the different metal mostly covered the sunlight. Bits of rays entered through the few gaps, dimly lighting the open area.

_What is this place?_

Alisa gazed at her surroundings, entranced by the wide, sheltered field. As she was viewing the secret area, she spots Drake, kneeling on the ground. His back was shown to her. Silently, she sneaked closer to him.

"Sorry for the delay. Had to deal with a few things." he said to himself.

Alisa listened and watched Drake.

"My friends threw a birthday party for today. I got angry at that, however..."

"..."

"I didn't want to act angry at them, because they went through the trouble of celebrating it. Today's a bad to be partying, because today is a special one; for you that is."

Drake dug into the plastic bag he brought with him. He pulled out the incense and the forget-me-not.

Alisa saw the gift she gave to him, sitting next to the plastic bag.

"It's been 18 years since you've been put to rest."

_Who is he talking to?_

"It's not my birthday, but yours. Forgive me being so rude, Clara."

_Clara? Who's Clara?_

Drake placed the incense on the floor, together with the forget-me-not. He searched his pocket, and produced a small box of matches, along with his amulet. Drake locked the amulet around his neck. He took out a match, and lit it, sharing the flame on the incense. After lighting it, he snuffed out the match.

Drake stood up, and clasped his hands together. Alisa peeked at what was in front of Drake. Her shoulders dropped as she spotted it.

A lone wooden cross, stood atop a small pile of dirt.

_That's a...a...grave..._

Drake started to speak again.

"La tua vita è stato portato via da te, perché era troppo presto per voi di passare. La tua morte avrebbe dovuto essere qualcosa che solo voi stessi dovreste controllare. Non solo ho mancato di rispetto al passato, ma anche oggi. Perdonami, e che la vostra anima riposare in pace eterna nei skyes di cui sopra, Clara Vincenzo. Amen."

_That language...Is that Italian? I didn't know Drake could speak it. But more importantly...why did Drake hide something like this?_

Alisa slowly approached Drake, however her foot stepped on a twig, producing a snapping noise. Drake flinched, and whirled around. As he noticed the familiar face, a few seconds of awkward silence passed. He broke the tense air, growling,

"...ALISA?"

"P-please! Wait, Drake! I came here to bring you back! I-I didn't mean to follow you, I was just-"

"Even so, you still followed me..."

Drake picked up the red bag, despite being so angry at Alisa. He stomped over to her, all the while, glaring.

"Drake, if you give me a chance to explain, I!"

"No excuses." he curtly responded.

He was about to yell at Alisa, until his phone started to ring. He pulled it out, seeing that it's Lindow. He suspiciously glanced at Alisa, while having his phone ring. Alisa felt the uneasy stare; she fidgeted, saying,

"Y-you s-s-should answer your phone, Drake."

Drake still eyed her suspiciously.

"I need to have a word with you, after this."

Drake pushed the answer button, and began talking on his phone. Alisa exhaled in relief, saved by the phone call.

_Good god! His glare is absolutely terrifying! _

"What is it that you need, Lindow?"

"..."

"Hello?"

"..."

"Lindow, are you there?"

"..."

"Answer me! I don't have time to talk to you!"

"...i'M AfraiD YOU doN't haVE tiME, CAIN."

Drake's heart sank.

"What in the...you're not Lindow, who are you?!"

Alisa became startled by the sudden change in his voice.

"LiKe i WoUlD tELL, YOU."

"What?!" _This person...is he using some sort of voice changer?_

"I SUggEst You HeAD BAcK to ThE DeN. OtHERwiSE, It'S cUrTAIns FoR THEM, TENENTE."

The line got cut off. Drake could hear the beeping on the earpiece of his phone. He pushed the 'end call' button, and dropped his arm, loosely holding his phone. Alisa, bewildered by the situation, asks,

"Drake, who was that?"

"Alisa..."

"?"

"We need to run back to the den. Everybody's in danger."

"What?!"

"Let's go! We don't have much time!"

"O-okay!"

* * *

Drake and Alisa rush into the main hall. They spotted a few unknown figures in the upper level.

"Everybody!" screamed Drake.

Lindow called out,

"Drake?! Don't come over here! It's-

Without listening, Drake rushed upstairs, while Alisa followed pursuit. They were about to see their friends, only to be interrupted, by a few figures. They ambushed them, and had their hands handcuffed behind their backs.

"What the?!" exclaimed Alisa.

The two new types struggled at the persons trapping them. However, the figures forcibly pushed them down to their knees, unable to get up.

"-a trap. It's a trap." Drake finished Lindow's sentence.

"Too late." said Lindow.

Drake and Alisa found the other god eaters. They were handcuffed, just like Drake and Alisa, only they were in front of the folding table. Drake quickly scanned the area around him. The figures surrounding them, were men in black suits; most wore black sunglasses.

"Lindow! Everyone! What happened?" asked Drake.

"Apparently, somebody threw a gas grenade. It knocked us all out for few minutes. What's more, the security system has been hacked by these guys." explained Lindow.

_Shit! These intruders...It can't be... _"Where is your leader?" Drake asked the suited men.

"You rang?"

A muffled voice entered everybody's ears. Another figure appeared, as it came from the lower level of the main hall. The men in the black suits, made space for the voice step in.

A tall man, in a white suit materialized. He wore a mask, covering his entire face, making his voice be stifled. He had long dark brown hair with a few white streaks, tied in a ponytail.

The masked man, advanced to Drake. With a sneering, suppressed voice, he answered,

"Hello, Cain. It's been far too long."

"..."

Sakuya spoke up, "Drake, do you know this masked man?"

Drake stayed silent for bit. "No, I most certainly do not."

"Oh, don't be so coldhearted, Cain."

"...Sorry, but my name is Drake Galios. My name isn't Cain." Drake harshly replied.

"Hmmm...Perhaps this will jog your memory? Non ha importanza. Non importa quanto si modifica il nome o l'aspetto, la vostra origine della vostra identità, è ancora Caino."

Federico's ears twinged. He whispered, "Hold on...that's Italian! I know that's Italian!"

Soma whispered back, "Try to eavesdrop on them. See if you can translate it, after we get these guys off our backs."

Drake responded back, "I have no idea what you're saying."

"Stai iniziando a testare la mia pazienza, Caino. Non ho tutto il giorno a giocare con il tuo sarcasmo."

Federico began to translate in his head. _You're beginning to test my patience, Cain. I don't have all day to play with your sarcasm._

"Like I said, I have no idea what you're saying." repeated Drake.

"Molto bene, allora."

_Very well, then._

The masked man pulled out a handgun, and pointed it to Alisa. She silently gasped, as she saw the object in front of her. Drake roared at the masked man.

"What are you doing?! Don't!"

"Alisa!" shouted Sakuya.

"Ancora non si deve dimenticare questo. Come sappiamo entrambi, questo è ciò che è stato ti danneggia in passato."

_Even you should not forget this. As we both know, this is what's been damaging you in the past._

The masked man was about to pull the trigger, until Drake barked back at him,

"Ricardo! Io affondare i canini nella giugulare, se ancora di pensare a mettere un proiettile in lei!"

Federico flinched at Drake's words. _Ricardo! I'll sink my fangs into your jugular, if you even think about putting a bullet in her!_

"Così finalmente trovato la tua lingua. Non importa, ho intenzione di farvi pagare, dopo quello che hai fatto. Solo che questa volta, il dolore sarà un 1000 volte peggio."

_So you finally found your tongue. No matter; I'm going to make you pay, after what you did. Only this time, the pain will be a 1000 times worse._

The masked man squeezes the trigger, about to fire the bullet.

"NOOOO!"

Alisa closed her eyes, and as she did, a gunshot resounded through the air.

The bullet entered her heart, making it spill huge amounts of blood.

Or at least, that's what **she **thought.

Alisa opened her eyes, only to find that she wasn't wounded. She looked back to the mask man. However, the gun was not pointing to her.

"No..." she whispered.

"You always were a fool, Cain. Always biting off more than you can chew."

Drake dropped his head down, inspecting his chest. His dress shirt and blazer, was pooling with a red stain. He coughed out some dark red liquid, and with a heavy thump, he fell down on the floor.

"DRAAAAAKE!"

* * *

End of Chapter 6:The Cruel Irony

* * *

_Author's note: If any of you readers know Italian, please comment on some parts of the dialogue in Italian, if I did anything wrong. I used google translate for this._


	7. Chapter 7: Chaos Has Entered

_Author's note: For those who want a visual on Ricardo's mask, take a look at the picture I put up front as the cover.__  
_

* * *

He lay there, down on the floor, as the blood continued seeping out of his body. His eyes were half open, but looked empty. His mouth, filled with blood, spilled itself on the floor. All stared at him. None moved their mouths to speak. Silence passed for a few seconds.

The dead air was then broken, none other than him.

"In the end, the oracle cells destroyed you. How ironic, since you solely relied on it just to stop me."

Alisa's shoulders dropped. Her mouth was slightly open; nonstop she watched him bleed and not move.

"Drake….no…." Her voice silently shook.

A single tear streamed down on her face as she whispered his name. Alisa dropped her head down. More tears flooded down her face, as she stayed still and lifeless. Soma growled at Ricardo, cursing,

"YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DONE!"

"Soma, don't!" cried Lindow.

He struggled to get up using his legs, however, two of Ricardo's men pinned him down to the floor. They held his head, preventing him from getting up. Soma struggled to get them off of him, but was immediately stopped as one of the suited men pulled out a gun, and pointed it at his head.

"Damn!"

"Soma!" cried Kota. He was about to get up as well, but was stopped by Lindow.

"Kota, stay where you are! He'll lose his head!" _In more ways than one._

"But-"

"We can't afford to lose another comrade, damn it!"

Kota became taken aback by Lindow's yell. All the god eaters grimly glanced back at Drake. He stayed still, not moving. Kota moved his head down, showing an angered face.

"Indeed you can't, Corporal Amamiya." commented Ricardo.

Lindow cringed at Ricardo's statement. He scowled at Ricardo's mocking, stifled, voice. Behind Lindow's back he tightly gripped his handcuffed hands.

"Who in the world are you?" he asked.

Ricardo swiveled, gazing at Lindow's eyes.

Lindow studied his face. He eyed daggers at Ricardo, but could not tell what cold, dark malice lies beneath that mask.

"I don't need to introduce myself to the likes of you people. After all, **he **screamed it."

"…Ricardo, was it?"

Ricardo stayed silent.

"Just what kind of business do you have with us?"

"I only came here to pick up this tiny wolf. This little cub, right here." Ricardo pointed at Drake. "I knew he'd resist right away, but to even think that he would go **there** of all places, is nothing more than an insult. He's really quite the hypocrite you see; kept on saying that he would not allow himself to come in contact with any other person out there."

"What? What are you saying?"

"Ah, I've said too much. Anyway, I appreciate that you've been looking after Cain, but I will be permanently taking him off your hands."

"What?!"

"Where are you taking, Drake?!" demanded Tatsumi.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have-"

"**-a special delivery to the face…." **snarled a voice.

Ricardo spun as he heard a familiar voice, only to be interrupted by a powerful impact to his mask. The force of the impact sent Ricardo flying a few feet, across the main hall. He crashed on his back, and as he scrambled to get up, a figure flew in the air. It back flipped, and landed on its feet.

"**I've forgotten how you used to play dirty, Ricardo."**

His bloody, dark orange dress shirt entered everybody's vision. His hands were still handcuffed behind his back. He slowly slipped his feet between his trapped hands; bringing it forward, he rested it in front of his lap. Alisa lifted her head as she saw the familiar figure. She couldn't help but smile widely, relived to know he's alive.

"Drake, you're-"

In an instant, she clammed up as she saw his face. Everyone did the same thing as well, speechless by what they see. In a hushed voice, Kanon nervously says,

"Drake?"

The revealed face was the murderous glare Alisa first spotted.

However, something was different.

The noticeable scarlet colored eyes everybody saw daily shined a deep shade of red. It glowed along with the killing presence, sending the deepest chills. Fresh blood dribbled a little down his mouth; Drake locked his ice cold gaze at Ricardo. A few of the god eaters and Ricardo's men shuddered at the very sight.

Ricardo, however, did not shy away. Even though he was currently being stared down by Drake, he never showed signs of fear or nervousness. He stood up, calm and collected.

"Interessante, così le cellule oracolo mai distrutto il 'pulsazione della infinita'. Sei proprio come il Caino nella Bibbia."

Federico snapped out of his ghost like trance. He shook his head, and began listening to Ricardo once more. He concentrated on the conversation with full attention. _Interesting, so the oracle cells never destroyed the 'Pulsation of the Infinite'. You really are like the Cain in the bible._

"**You talk too much, old man." **Drake lifted his chained hands. **"This little cub is going to bite you back." **The handcuffs began to tremble and shake on Drake's wrists. In the next moment, the chain ripped apart, and the sound of the metal cracked by the excessive force. Pieces of the broken shackles scattered down to the floor, producing a bell-like noise. Almost everybody dropped their jaws as they witnessed Drake's extreme strength.

"Prendetelo!"

_Seize him! _Federico can't help but smirk at that command.

A few of the suited men hurled themselves at Drake. In the next moment, he grabbed the nearest one by the collar, and threw him to the thug holding Alisa. She ducked, and the two crashed into each other, collapsing to the floor. Dodging the others going after him, Drake swiftly closed the distance on the ones holding Soma. Jumping in the air, he kicks the thug in the face, launching him to the hangar doors.

"Urgh!" grunted the black suited man.

He released the grip of his gun. While in the air, Drake grabbed it and landed. He whirled around, and pointed it to the other man. The target gasped. Lindow bellowed, "Drake!"

"**I wouldn't stoop that low."**

He lowered the handgun, aiming at the legs. With two consecutive shots, Drake immobilized his enemy. Ricardo's thug screamed by the pain of the bullets, as it entered both of his legs.

"Siete tutti così inutile!" yelled Ricardo.

_You are all so useless!_

Ricardo flipped his handgun; he held it in a tonfa-like position. Drake did the same as well; the two closed in on each other, and started clashing their guns against the other. Cracks, clangs, and clinks resounded in the air each time their guns struck. They rapidly brought down their attack on their opponent, showing no mercy or hesitation. They did not stop for one measly second; they relentlessly went on full assault.

If one were stop, the slower one would no doubt receive a massive, fatal wound. Both of their minds were filled with one thing and one thing only.

To out-speed their enemy's attacks, no matter what.

Drake bared his teeth at Ricardo, as they continue their gun-kata combat.

_Not yet! Not yet! Faster! I need to go faster! I need to overpower him in speed!_

Exhilaration filled Drake's body. He pushed the limits of his speed even further, until-

*CLANG*

Losing the grip of his gun, and having it flung to the side, Ricardo became wide open.

"**YOU'RE GETTING SLOW, TORTOISE!" **shouted Drake. He was about to flip his gun to shoot at Ricardo at zero-range, however, with a sleight of hand, he pulled out some sort of black object.

"And the tortoise wins the race."

He stabbed Drake with the black object.

"**EEEYOOOOWW!" **he screamed.

"Drake!" yelled Alisa.

Drake trembled by the stabbing unable to move. He dropped the gun, letting it fall to the ground. Ricardo grabbed Drake's throat, lifting him up in the air. Drake let out short breathes, as he continued to be choked by Ricardo's tight grip.

"Fool. You do realize the tortoise wins the race, don't you?" Ricardo revealed a stun gun in his other hand. "The hare always loses."

Drake continues gasping for air, as he struggled against Ricardo's skintight grasp. However, a cocky smile creased his lips. Ricardo spotted the odd grin. Suspicious, he questions, "What are you smiling about?"

Struggling to speak, he answers, "Haha…You're..urgh…definitely….right Ricardo." _Move._ "The hare….always loses…" _Move, dammit….. _"Why?" _Come on, you stupid arm! Move! _**"Because the tortoise is one step ahead."**

"What?..."

Ricardo sees that Drake lifted his left hand. In his fingers, was a silver, can-shaped object.

"That's…"

"**Why not take a heavy-duty chloroform gas grenade?"**

All of a sudden, Drake flung the gas grenade to the floor. It exploded, and chloroform gas leaked.

* * *

"Alisa...Alisa!..."

A faint voice reached Alisa's ears. She sluggishly opened her eyes, seeing a familiar face. She whispered, "…..S-Sakuya?" Her vision slowly became clearer.

Relieved by the response, Sakuya hugs Alisa.

"Thank goodness! You're okay!"

"Oh! Wait Sakuya, I need to get up."

"Ah! Sorry." Sakuya let go of Alisa.

She sat up, finding, that she was lying on the upper main hall's couches. Alisa quickly inspects her surroundings. The main hall was complete mess. A few other god eaters were wandering around the main hall, each were occupied with the recent changes.

Lindow and Soma crouched, inspecting a part of the floor.

Kota and Tatsumi were doing the same thing, only in a different location. They were a few meters apart.

Kanon stood in front of the folding table, handling a first-aid kit.

Alisa held her head with one hand. "What just..." In an instant, Alisa remembers the recent events. "That's right! The intruder! Ricardo, where is he?!"

"Alisa, calm down! Ricardo's gone. He's not here anymore." explained Sakuya.

"What about Drake?! Where is he?"

Sakuya stayed silent. She avoided Alisa's eyes.

"Sakuya, where is he?"

"….."

"Sakuya, I think it's better if you just tell the kid." answered Lindow, as he overheard Alisa's voice.

Alisa moved her head in direction of Lindow. "Tell me what? What happened to him?" She jerked her head back to Sakuya. Still, she did not say a word. "Kanon!" called Alisa. "What happened to Drake? Where is he?"

Kanon did not say a word. She placed down a needle she was holding.

Lindow stood up. He scratched his head and sighed. Alisa bolted off the couches, running towards Lindow.

"Lindow where is he? Where's Drake?"

"….."

"Lindow!" Alisa glared at him, impatient with the silence.

"Okay! Okay! Just stop giving me that look, will you?" with a deep breath, he answers Alisa's question.

"Drake's missing."

Alisa's eyes bulged. She silently gasped as she heard those horrible words. Slowly, she frowned at Lindow.

"Missing? Drake's missing?!" she yelled.

Soma stood up, and grabbed her shoulder.

"Alisa!" he hollered. "Don't take your anger out at Lindow. I know you're worried about Drake, but that doesn't mean you should vent out your anger at him."

Alisa slowly moved her head down, and with meek voice she says, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you."

Lindow smiles at her. "It's all right. We're being so tight lipped around you; it's only natural that you would suddenly yell. But like I said, Drake's missing."

"What about his armlet? Every armlet has a tracking device installed, and if we ask Hibari to pinpoint his location-"

"We can't." interrupted Lindow.

"What?"

"We can't pinpoint his location with his armlet." he repeated.

"Why?"

"Because," Lindow digs into his pocket. He produces an item he found during his investigation with Soma, and presented it to Alisa. She silently gasped. Her jaw dropped, her eyes widened as she sees the all too familiar shape.

"This can't be…." she held Lindow's hand, as she continued gazing at the object.

The huge red bracelet sat on Lindow's hand.

"Drake's armlet only leads us to the entrance's doors."

* * *

End of chapter 7: Chaos Has Entered


	8. Chapter 8: Bare Your Fangs

The dim sunlight shined down on the wooden cross. The rotunda metal roof barely allowed light to pass. The burnt incense stood in front of the grave, while the small blue bundle of flowers sat beside the pot. Her pale-blue eyes were locked on the items, while his brown eyes did the same. He grips his pale yellow beanie, and lowered it to his eyes.

"So, Drake was here?" asks Kota.

Alisa turns her head to the fellow member. "Yes, he was; after he left the party."

Kota releases his beanie, and hangs his head. Gloom loomed on his face underneath his hat. He sighed remorsefully, thinking back to the party. Alisa speaks up and questions "Are you still bothered by what you did?"

Kota nodded with a painful expression. "I shouldn't have thrown that party for him."

Alisa shook her head at Kota. "None of us knew that Drake was planning to pay his respects to the deceased. Don't put yourself down."

"Yeah." he said miserably. "Hey, Alisa,"

"Yes?"

"Before the party, you said that you saw Drake's glare when he came into the main hall, right?"

She grimly answered, "…I did."

"I…see." Kota recollects the murderous cast. That dead, empty look in Drake's eyes; that heartless ice-cold sensation; the deep glowing crimson as he stared down Ricardo; and the slight blood dripping out of his mouth. Kota's teeth rattled a bit, as the image lay heavily on his head. He spoke up, trying to get it off. "Whose grave is this, Alisa?"

"From what I generally heard, this grave belongs to a person named, Clara Vincenzo. Unfortunately, I don't know who this person is."

"…"

"…"

The heavy silence continued for a few more minutes. The two young god eaters gazed at the single lone grave. Breaking the tense atmosphere, Kota's phone vibrates. He pulls it out, finding a text from Sakuya.

"It's from Sakuya." he said.

"What did she say?"

"She says we need to head back to the den. The others want to share their findings. They're in doc's lab."

"Okay…"

The two young god eaters trudge to back to the entrance of the hidden tomb. Each crunching step inside the secret grave broke the quiet air. Alisa stopped, and looked back to the grave.

_All day we've been searching for Drake, and yet we still can't find anything that leads to him. All of us involved are trying to find clues to his whereabouts; however, the more we clues we find, the more questions are raised. Especially, how he sustained that wound back there… We need to find him, and quick…Without his armlet, the oracle cells…_

"Alisa! What are you doing over there?" called Kota.

"Sorry Kota! I'm coming!" Alisa quickly leaves the hidden tomb.

As she stepped out, the bright sunset entered her vision. She glances over to the red-orange sky, while a light wind gently blows her silver hair.

_Drake…please be okay…_

* * *

Alisa and Kota enter Sakaki's lab. As they entered, Soma and Federico were sitting on the couch, while Sakuya and Lindow were standing beside Sakaki. The first one to greet them was Sakaki. He sat on his chair, surrounded by the computers and keyboards.

"Ah, there you are. Did you happen to find anything while you were there?"

Alisa shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. No traces or any new signs in the area. We even asked a few of the civilians if they have seen Drake, but no one has."

"I see...Alisa; you mentioned that that place is some sort of secret grave. Exactly whose is it?"

"A person named Clara Vincenzo. A woman, I believe." she answered. "Before Drake spotted me, I overheard him saying that it has been eighteen years since she has passed away."

Federico's ears jerked at that statement.

"18 years…but that's inconsistent with his age. Drake is 17." said Sakaki.

All of a sudden, Federico jumped up from his seat. With a shocked face, he nervously reaffirms Alisa's words. "Wait a minute. Did you just say…Vincenzo?"

Bewildered by Federico's expression, Alisa responds, "Yes. Do you know about Clara Vincenzo?"

Federico lowers his head. Anxiety slowly materialized on his face. His lips trembled, his face stated to sweat, while his eyes widened by what he just he heard. He muttered to himself, "Oh my god…this is absurd…"

"Federico, what's wrong?" called Alisa.

He stayed silent for bit. With a pained expression, he sighed deeply, and with a cold hard voice, he replied, "Clara Vincenzo is the daughter of the Vincenzo family."

"Who are the Vincenzo's?" asks Soma.

"They're the most ruthless mafia family in Italy. Almost nobody at my home country talks about them, or even dares to gossip about it. The Vincenzo's are the head of an international, underground economy."

"What's the name of the black market?" asks Sakuya.

"Dalarik." replied Federico.

"Dala-what?" questioned Kota.

"Dah-lair-ick." he pronounced. "And it's not just your typical deals on the side. In Italy, this black market is known to trade, sell, or smuggle any kind of dangerous services or items. And by any kind, I **mean** any kind of illegal trades."

"Such as...?"

"Drugs, weapons, restricted info, assassination projects, terrorist bombing; the list goes on and on. What's more, it gets more ghastly as it does. **Any kind **of illegal or dangerous trades is shared and sold among that underground economy. I can't even imagine the most horrible ones in there."

Kota mumbles to himself, "I've never heard of anything like this…"

"Neither have I." added Sakuya.

Sakaki listened closer to Federico's explanation, silent.

Lindow speaks up, asking what everyone is thinking, "If it's that dangerous and illegal as you say, how come almost all of us never heard of Dalarik?"

"That's mainly because Dalarik hides its trail. All evidence that leads to their tracks is demolished. Even the **smallest shred of evidence** is destroyed, and is never to be seen again. That includes people as well, **if **they are unaware of the dangers."

"If? What do you mean?" Lindow raised an eyebrow.

"Let me give you an example….We know that all merchants record their sold items, correct?"

"Huh? Well, yeah, business purposes, right?"

Federico nodded. "Right, however, what if the merchant is not allowed to personally record the sold merchandise, but send it by word only to the Vincenzo's. However, the merchant writes down a list of his traded items. And if, IF there was a soldier searching for a clue on Dalarik, what would happen if that soldier finds the recorded sold merchandise? What do you think the Vincenzo's would do, once they find that tiny illegal info is leaked out?"

Lindow began to process Federico's question. He recollected his words, trying to figure out the hints. As he found the solution, his eyes widened. "…..Wait! You don't mean!"

Federico nodded with a solemn face. "Yes. They silently assassinate the merchant and along with the soldier. What's more, their deaths are covered up as well."

Almost everyone in the room gasped at Federico's answer. The room came into a stiff silence, unable to process their heads on what they just heard. A few began to picture the situation; they shuddered at the image in their head. Alisa then broke the dead air.

"But, that's insane!" she commented. "If they're that dangerous, how come nobody, not even Fenrir, has noticed the Vincenzo's and Dalarik?"

"Your wrong about that Alisa." answered Sakaki. She turned her head, facing him. "There have been rumors in HQ about an international black market in Italy. Some say that the Fenrir headquarters have been 'hounding' at them to arrest them, however…"

"However?" echoed Alisa.

"The Fenrir headquarters were unable to continue their pursuit. As Federico mentioned before, there was lack of evidence. There's no doubt that the Vincenzo family, denied any accusations that Fenrir threw at them. Because of that, the headquarters were unable to back up their claims."

Kota growled at Sakaki, "So what? Because they're unable to find anything on Dala-whatever, Fenrir can't arrest them?"

"Unfortunately, yes. You can't accuse someone without proving it. If there is nothing to back up their claim, Fenrir HQ would just be a hit and run arsonist."

"…." Kota hanged his head, powerless to counter Sakaki's words.

Sakaki pushed up his glasses. "Let's not worry about that for now. What we need are clues on Drake's whereabouts. Federico, is there anything else you can tell us about Clara Vincenzo?"

Federico began to contemplate. After a few seconds, he responded, "I only know rumors about her death. From what I heard, she died due to a heart attack. Nobody knows how though."

"Okay, and who is the current CEO of Dalarik?"

"A man who goes by the name, Mario Vincenzo; I don't know anything about him though." shrugged Federico.

"…I think that will do for now. Also, one more thing… what did you find out during the conversation between Drake and Ricardo?"

"I heard Ricardo talking about something called, 'Pulsation of the Infinite.' He also mentioned about the oracle cells failing to destroy it. Other than that, those two were cursing at each other."

"I see…Thank you, Federico." nodded Sakaki. He turned his shifty-eyed face to Lindow and Soma. "Lindow, Soma? Did you find anything during your investigation?"

Lindow produces a huge red armlet from his pocket; it was placed in a sealed plastic bag. Lindow gives it to Sakaki, as he examines the red bracelet through the bag. Alisa grimly watches as he does so. "Soma and I found this by the entrance's doors. I had the medical unit do further tests on Drake's armlet."

"And,"

"The only thing they found, were a few scratch marks, and an imprinted dirt mark. I asked Soma to ask a few of the medical team members to check the damages on the main floor."

"Drake's blood on the floor had a trace to the entrance's doors. There was also some sort of imprint on the floor. What's more, that grenade he used back there contained chloroform."

"Chloroform; what's that?" asked Kota.

"Chloroform is a type of molecular compound chemical that is able to temporarily knock out another person for a short duration. It's an anesthetic or a sleeping tool used for surgery purposes. You'll be unconscious by just taking a small whiff of it; a few seconds for a small dose would do." explained Sakaki. "And because of that grenade…"

"…we got knocked out." said Soma, as he finished Sakaki's sentence. "It's the same one Ricardo used when he ambushed us. Also, they gave me this." Soma presented a photo and gives it to Sakaki.

As the doctor examines it, he sees an enlarged bloody hand print on the entrance's doors. The hand print was slightly smeared. _The only one who bled heavily was him. _"This bloody hand print is Drake's, correct?"

Soma gave a nod.

His shifty-eyed face slightly opened, glaring at the picture. _Everyone has mentioned how his eyes glowed after he was shot. But what puzzles me the most is that shot. The odds of enduring that shot, is close to none. I wonder…._ "Sakuya, about the security system…For the cameras, did you and Hibari were able to find any recordings?"

"Just one. Since the security system was hacked, the cameras were not able to record the ambush, and we only managed to salvage this." Sakuya pulls out a small silver disk. "Though, the room was a little visually impaired because of the gas." She gives Sakaki the disk.

"Let's take a look, shall we?" With a push of a button on his keyboard, a disk tray from one of his computer hard drives opens. He stands up from his chair, places the disk. As it closed, Sakaki swivels one of his monitors, having it face the others.

* * *

The screen showed black and grey fuzz; it later cleared up, and showed the main hall. The upper part of the main floor was covered with a grey, foggy gas. Going through the gas, a familiar figure ran down the stairs. He had his arm over his mouth and was repeatedly coughing. His dark orange dress shirt was sullied with blood, along with his dark grey blazer. As he came down to the lower floor, he placed his hand on a nearby rail. Collapsing to his knees, he showed the back of his dark-blue, spiky hair.

_*cough* *cough* "Argh, damn it!" _He lifted his face, scarlet eyes shown, with a bloodied mouth. He breathed heavily from his wounds, with sweat dropping from his forehead. Drake turned his head over to the missionary desk, while he awkwardly strode to it and climbed over the counter. He began typing furiously at the computer, panting with a pained expression.

* * *

"What's he doing?" asks Kota.

* * *

"_Damn it! How the hell did he managed to steal the security system?!"_

"_Impressive trick, Cain." _bellowed a voice.

Drake swiveled his body, as the stifled, sneering voice entered his ears.

The others twitched, and cringed at the all the too familiar voice, as they continued watching. He sluggishly walked down on the stairs; with each footstep nearing, the steps felt louder and louder, heavier and heavier. Horror slithered up everyone's necks, as he finally came into vision on the screen. The trademark mask faced Drake.

"_Quite the quick fingers you have back there."_ he mocked.

"_That's because the bones in your body are starting to slow down. Time takes a toll on your age."_ While confronting Ricardo, Drake pushes two buttons simultaneously on the keyboard. He hurled over the desk, whilst locking his eyes on the masked man.

"_That doesn't apply to me." _With swift speed, Ricardo closed the short distance, and in mere moments, he spun, kicking Drake on the side of his body, with the use of his heel. Drake was launched by Ricardo's powerful kick, and was sent flying nearby the entrance's doors. He skidded on the metal floor, and was sprawled on the side of his body.

He was about to get up, only to be interrupted by Ricardo's battle yell. _"HYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" _ Jumping high in the air, with his fist drawn out, he displayed it at Drake and was about to punch him. Drake rolled to the side, getting up on his feet while doing so. Ricardo smashed his fist on the metal ground, and as he slowly lifted his fist, the metal ground revealed a knuckle imprint. He cracked his knuckles loudly with his other hand.

Drake hurled himself at Ricardo, tackling him; however, Ricardo hooked Drake's shoulder. As he did, he flipped over Drake's back, and as he came behind, he pulled Drake, choking him at the neck.

Drake gagged at the sudden, rough, tug at his neck.

Ricardo threw the leader down to the ground, tossing Drake on his front body. As he did so, Drake had his face pinned to the side on the ground, by Ricardo's hand. The two struggled, as Drake forced to lift his head, having Ricardo forcibly push his head down. Ricardo dug in his pocket whilst holding Drake, producing a small silver ball. As he did, he threw it at Drake's neck; it exploded, and ice crystals materialized, trapping Drake's head to the ground.

* * *

"What is that?!" gasped Sakuya.

* * *

The crystals hardened in just a few seconds, making an ice collar. Drake struggled to lift his head once more, but was wedged down.

"_The hell is this, Ricardo?!"_ demanded Drake.

"_Oh please, do I even need to explain what it is?"_ he scoffed.

* * *

Sakaki whispered to himself, as he observed the video with the others. "Some sort of ice-grenade able to freeze at absolute zero temperature?... No, but that would kill Drake's neck and head when coming in on direct contact; what's more, how is it that ice grenade able to lock him?…"

* * *

"_I suggest you stop being so difficult Cain; it's better for the missing pup to be back with his master, or the lost property to be handed back to his original owner."_

"_Awww, what's wrong, Ricardo? Do you miss the little puppy that bit you in the _culo_?" _scorned Drake. Using his arms, he began to lift his body in a push –up like position, attempting to free himself from the ice-collar.

Ricardo, however, stood up; he stepped over to Drake's right wrist, and in the next few seconds, Ricardo stomped on Drake's armlet, firmly crushing it with his foot, and grinding it on the ground. Drake collapsed at the attack.

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGG GHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

* * *

As the others hear Drake's blood-curdling scream, they grimaced at the very sight. That screeching terror sound, clawed at everyone's eardrums. The team became horrified at the fierce, violent, torture Ricardo inflicted.

Alisa gripped on her arm; Kota instinctively held his armlet; Soma clutched on one of his ears; Sakuya shut her eyes and looked away; Lindow bared his teeth, seething at the video; Federico gave a slight whimper; Sakaki faintly opened his shifty eyes.

* * *

Drake's armlet showed sparks of electricity, along with a few black tentacles wrapping a bit of his arm.

_*pant* *pant* "…DamMiTT!...RicArdO!.."_

Ricardo continued crunching Drake's armlet on the ground.

"_Did you forget what I said, Cain? I'll pay you back for what you did, only this time, the pain will be 1000 times worse." he began to place more pressure on Drake's armlet._

"_UUUURRAAGGGH…" _ Drake squirmed at the pain; he gritted his teeth as the pain began to chew off the feel of his arm.

"_Do tell me Cain, why is it that you're with Fenrir?"_

"_What do you think I've done all these years, Ricardo?"_

Ricardo kicked Drake hard in the stomach.

"_Ooof!"_

"_Even after all these years you still haven't changed one bit. The only thing that has changed is you smiling and laughing like it's nothing. I guess it's true what they say; the greatest people usually bear the most painful emotions."_

"_Shut…it…Ricardo…."_

"_I must praise you for your endurance. I wonder if you will still act the same, if there was a repeat."_

* * *

_Repeat? What does he mean?_ thought Alisa.

* * *

"_The young woman with the silver hair…she reminds me of another woman in your life."_

"_Stop it…"_ Drake whispered. His body trembled along with his hands clawing at the ground.

"_She has the same pale-blue eyes as her. What was her name again? Alisa, was it?"_

"_Stop it…Ricardo…."_

"_Maybe she may face the same fate as Clara Vincenzo."_

In the next few moments, a cracking sound, like that of a shattered glass, resounded through the air. Ricardo was then sent flying by a tackle in the chest. Being pushed by the strong force, he rolled backwards on the floor; while doing so, he flipped his body, and later gained his balance on his feet.

With pure cold, malice in his eyes, and the faint glow of his crimson orbs, Drake uttered in a low growling voice, _"__**RICARDO, DIE BY MY HAND." **_Drake charged to Ricardo, appearing in front of his chest. With his left hand, Drake made his fingers close together side by side, making them point straight.

He pulled back his arm, and as he launched it forward, Drake directly stabbed Ricardo in the heart.

* * *

End of chapter 8: Bare Your Fangs


	9. Chapter 9: Unwrapping the Truth

He stood there, with the blood seeping out of his body, both on the front and back. The dark, red liquid stained his clean white coat, and Drake's dark-grey sleeve, dying the colors with its deep ruby appearance. Ricardo lifelessly hanged his head, as Drake's hand remained at his wound. The fingertips, were now soaked in a deep red stain, and were slightly visible on the end of the hole. Drake's face showed no expression; just the dead empty cast in his eyes, without single trace of life or any emotion within it.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

* * *

The others quivered at the very sight, as the silence filled both the recording and the lab. They continued staring at the video, never tearing away their vision at the screen. Alisa watched in dreadfulness, dismayed at the sudden violent nature of Drake, and speechless at his murderous intent of killing Ricardo. She made an audible gulp, as her throat suddenly became dry.

* * *

"_I'm not going to let to go about your merry way Ricardo."_ Drake coldly replied to the still masked man. He began to pull back his hand from Ricardo's chest, however… _"What in the-"_

A person's hand gripped at Drake's arm, clawing at the sleeve. Drake winced, and gazed upward at the person's mask. The others became shocked just as much as Drake in the video. That familiar sneering, stifled tone, mocked at Drake,

"_Did you really think that you could kill me so easily, Cain?"_

Ricardo lifted his head, looking directly in Drake's eyes. There was no sense of pain in Ricardo's speech. It was cold and calm, strong and sound; it terrified Drake as Ricardo's voice never changed at the throbbing of the wound.

"_No…that means….you…."_ The hint of fear in Drake's voice became clear as day, as he trailed off his sentence.

"_It's not that hard to put two and two together, now is it?"_ Ricardo continued gripping on Drake's arm with one hand. With his other hand, he reaches for his pocket, and pulls out some sort of short blade. The flat and wide edge faintly glistened against the lights; its back side was slightly jagged, and the size was bit larger compared to a kitchen knife. As Sakuya and Drake noticed the slightly large knife, they both pointed out in unison,

"A ballistic knife?!"

Ricardo twirled the knife in his hand, and brought down the knife to Drake. Refusing to get stabbed, Drake caught Ricardo's arm; little by little, he pushes the knife away from himself. Ricardo refused to be outdone by Drake, and began to push down as well. The two arm-wrestled against each other for a few minutes. Drake winced at the pain in his arm, as the struggle further nailed down the stress. Short sparks appeared on his armlet, and Drake grunted at the agony tearing his limb.

Frustrated and impatient, Ricardo draws back the knife, as Drake loses a bit of his balance. He brings down the knife once more, and Drake became wide open. All too fast, and all too quick Drake hesitated at the attack, and used the bracelet as a shield on the knife. The blade bounced off leaving a blade mark on the armlet.

"_Owwww!"_ he screamed. Drake cringed as the knife's attack stung his wrist, and travelled through his arm like lightning. The sparks from his armlet, flashed about on the attack.

Ricardo lifted the knife, and was about to shove it in Drake again. Drake used his armlet to protect him, and whacked the knife away. Ricardo lifted the knife and plunged it at Drake for the third time. He did it again, and again, and again. While doing so, Drake blocked at the attacks, however the only shield he was able to use was his armlet. Each time an attack was struck on him, and each time the knife grazed his red lifeline, he grunted at the aching discomfort it brought upon. The electric sparks increased with each hit.

With no tolerance and persistence anymore, Ricardo ceased his assault, and in the next moment, Ricardo swiftly planted one foot on Drake's stomach. There, he thrusts his leg, launching Drake to the entrance's doors.

"_Ummpff!"_

As Drake was forcibly pushed by Ricardo, his left hand got pulled away from the chest, separating each other. The blood then leaked, causing a massive spill on the floor. Drake was propelled to the entrance's doors; there, he collided to the closed metal entry, as his back took the hit, producing a loud crash. He coughed out some blood, and slowly slid down on the wall. He held his ribcage, wearing a pained expression as the soreness gnawed at his body.

* * *

Within an earshot, Lindow silently stammered, "That can't be…t-t-t-the stabbing…I-I-I-it was shot directly to the chest…how is Ricardo still alive?"

* * *

Drake struggled to get up, placing his bloody hand to the metal door; he pushed his weight to the door, and began to slowly move his legs to lift himself. His whole body trembled as it did so, while his armlet made cracking sounds from the visible flashes.

Ricardo caught his actions; he searched in his pocket, and pulled out a small silver ball.

* * *

"Ah shit! There it is again!" cried Soma.

* * *

With full might, Ricardo threw the ice grenade to Drake, aiming at his armlet. Unable to spot the small silver ball in front of him, Drake's armlet was then caught by the freezing bomb. By the force of the grenade, Drake's hand was then pushed to the entrance's doors. The sub-zero mortar exploded as it came into contact; as it froze in a few seconds, the ice grenade pinned Drake's right hand to the door behind him. The huge red bracelet stopped flashing.

"_Shit!"_ he cursed. Drake glanced at his trapped hand, and then he glanced back at Ricardo. He breathed heavily, as exhaustion took a toll on his body. Drake stared at Ricardo, regaining his composure. Ricardo then began moving towards Drake, about to approach him; however, he was then later stopped by Drake's words._ "What the hell was that attack on my armlet, Ricardo?"_

"_You know what it is, Cain. I trapped you with it as of now."_ he sighed.

"_Not that you bumbling old fool! I meant your foot and knife!"_

"_Oh?"_

"_When you crushed my armlet with your foot, you weren't affected by the oracle cells as they leaked out. The same thing with your knife; as you kept on attacking, that too was not affected by the oracle cells."_

"_Affected? Please, I have no idea what this so called 'effect' of the oracle cells you speak of."_ he said in a monotone voice.

"_I'm talking about how you were never devoured by the oracle cells, as you came into direct contact with it!"_

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"….."

* * *

As soon as Drake yelled that, the room came into a stiff silence. Everyone turned their attention to Ricardo, and allowed Drake's words to sink in their heads. As some noticed what he was getting at, they began to eye daggers at Ricardo. Immediately realizing Drake's words, Sakaki pushes a button on his keyboard, pausing the recording.

"I see… so that is what Drake is questioning Ricardo…this shouldn't happen or rather it's impossible…" he mumbled.

Alisa, unable to recognize the situation, asks Sakaki, "I don't understand; what's impossible?"

Sakaki steps over to the monitor and points at Ricardo while facing the god eaters. "Take a look at Ricardo here; do you see anything strange about him, other than his wound here?"

Alisa stares at the masked man, with his white coat riddled with blood, and the unfazed posture he showed. She thinks back to Drake's words, and continues staring at Ricardo. As she continued staring, she gasped.

It finally hit her.

"Wait, you don't mean!"

Sakaki nodded. "Right, that's what Drake is questioning Ricardo about."

Kota swiveled his head to the two, still confused. "Wait, what? I still don't get it, what was Drake asking Ricardo about?"

"Kota, what is an aragami?" asked Sakaki.

"Huh? Uh, doc, why are you asking me that?"

"Just think for a bit Kota. What is an aragami?"

Kota grips his pale-yellow beanie, as he tries to answer Sakaki's question. "Uh…a being made out of oracle cells? Don't they eat almost anything because of that?"

"Right; and they do. And what's injected in a god eater's body in order to wield a god arc?"

Kota muttered under his breath, "What the heck are you trying to get at, doc…" Kota speaks louder to answer his question. "Oracle cells; they're the only weapons that are able to fight the aragami."

"Right, so look back at Ricardo." Sakaki pushes a button on his keyboard, and rewinds the recording. He stops at the part where Ricardo stomps on Drake's armlet. He points to Ricardo and turns to Kota. "Do you see anything happening to Ricardo as he stomps on Drake's armlet?"

"No..."

"That's the idea. Oracle cells are basically made to eat or devour almost anything once it comes into direct contact. Not just living creatures, but inanimate objects as well, such as buildings. The question is this; since the oracle cells from Drake's body leaked, how come Ricardo's foot isn't devoured by them?"

For few seconds, Kota tries to process Sakaki's explanation. He jerked his head and flatly says, "Oh…that's you mean."

"The only way counter-attack oracle cells, is to use oracle cells. In a sense, you fight fire, with fire. From the looks of it, I suspect that Ricardo may be using material or armory, that are similar to Fenrir's; anti-aragami armor. It's the same thing with the knife." Sakaki pushes another button and fast forwards to the recent brawl. He stops at the point where Ricardo slashes Drake's armlet. "See how when he's in close combat with Drake here? The oracle cells aren't devouring his arm, or the ballistic knife in his hand. In other words, Ricardo is using anti-aragami materials against Drake."

The room came into another stiff silence as they gaze at the screen. They began to wonder how Ricardo has access to such equipment. Lindow then breaks the tense atmosphere.

"There are two more things that I'm concerned about."

"What's that Lindow?" asked Sakuya.

"Well, one, look at Ricardo." Lindow steps over to the screen, and points to Ricardo's wound. "Look at the stab wound; his stab wound is right where his heart is. You can see all the blood seeping out of his body, but look at him. He's totally fine; no signs of struggling on the wound, so how is it that he's still okay? I highly doubt that's he wearing some kind of armor beneath his clothing."

Sakuya examines Ricardo and Drake; she overviews Ricardo's body and compares the two men's bodies. Sakuya then spots what Lindow is explaining; the building of Ricardo's body is no different to that of an ordinary average adult man. "You're talking about his build, right? If Ricardo is wearing some kind of armor, his upper body would be bit larger. What's more, he wouldn't be bleeding so much."

Alisa then speaks up. "Oh! I see what you mean. If Ricardo has some sort of armor or padding in the upper body, he wouldn't be wounded. But wait…since Ricardo isn't wearing any armor, and he was stabbed in the heart, but is still alive, doesn't that mean?"

"Ricardo isn't human." answered Soma.

"…"

"You're right." said Federico. "No human should be alive after being….uh, well, stabbed in the heart. If we encounter him again, we'll have to be wary around him."

Soma gave a nod in return.

"Oh yeah, what was that other thing that you're concerned about Lindow?"

"The anti-aragami materials." he answered. "How does Ricardo, an outsider of Fenrir, have access to such an important method? Only Fenrir has access to those methods and ideas, on how to create bio-weapons and shields."

"Since that info is restricted to Fenrir, then that means only one thing." said Soma.

Kota turns to Soma, and questions, "One thing? What's that?"

"There's a spy in Fenrir. What's more, that spy is here in the den, since we got attacked."

"!"

"If that's the case, then the spy should be someone on the Maintenance Unit." added Sakaki. "The Maintenance Unit are solely responsible for repairs on bio-weapons, what's more, they are also entrusted with the Far East Branch's security system."

"We'll have to talk to Licca later then." replied Alisa.

"Right; in any case, we should continue on the video, there's a bit more." Sakaki fast forwards the recording, and continues where they left off.

* * *

"_I'm talking about how you were never devoured by the oracle cells, as you came into direct contact with it!"_

"…_.Ha-ha! Impressive Cain; despite being cornered, you're very observant and rational. If you noticed, then I don't need to explain, right?"_

"…_..È vero, in questo modo, non devo ascoltare un vecchio fossile vagante su e su."_

"_Silenzio!" _Ricardo flips the knife in his hand, and points it at Drake. With a sound of a click, a gunshot resounded in the room.

Drake ducks at the bullet as it homed in on him.

"_Whoa!"_ As the bullet buries itself in the doors behind him, Drake looks behind him, seeing a tiny hole. He turns his head back to Ricardo, and spots the knife with smoke coming out beneath the handle. _"A gun-knife, that's some hidden card you have."_

* * *

"Are you serious?! Just how many weapons does this guy have in his arsenal? He's practically armed to the teeth." commented Kota.

"Federico, what did Drake say?" asked Alisa, as she turned to him.

"He said, 'True, that way, I don't have to listen to an old fossil rambling on and on.'"

Alisa showed a doubtful look and thought, _Since when did Drake have the time to for witty remarks?_

* * *

"_Scherzare quanto vuoi Cain. Se si mantiene questa resistenza, io ricorro a uccidere i tuoi amici."_

* * *

While Ricardo talked, Federico translated. "Joke around all you want Cain. If you keep up this resistance, I'll resort to killing your friends."

* * *

"_Non sarà in grado di, vecchio. Io li difenderò da te."_ Drake began to pull his arm, while locking his vision on Ricardo.

* * *

"You won't be able to, old man. I'll be defending them from you."

* * *

"_Non si possono difendere, Caino. Non sarà in grado di, perché si condurli alla distruzione. Il modo in cui si è ora non è diverso rispetto a prima."_

* * *

"You can't defend them, Cain. You won't be able to, because you will lead them to destruction. The way you are now is no different compared to before."

* * *

"_Zitto, Ricardo."_ growled Drake.

* * *

A faint cracking sound echoed, as Drake's hand trembled. Soma's ears twitched as heard it. _Was that his arm?_

"Shut it, Ricardo."

* * *

"_Stai solo andando a ripetere di nuovo. Non importa quante volte si prova, il risultato è sempre lo stesso. Ecco perché il vostro destino è segnato. E 'per questo che sei Caino."_

* * *

"You're just going to repeat it again. No matter how many times you try, the result is still the same. That's why your fate is sealed. That's why you're Cain."

* * *

"_STOP IT."_ Drake's voice became more cold and harsh; he glared at Ricardo, as his arm continued trembling.

"_Shall I spell it out for you? You-"_

"_STOP IT."_

"_Are a-"_

"_SHUT YOUR MOUTH RICARDO."_

"_Killer to humanity."_

As the last words were finally said, Drake roared at Ricardo like a wild animal. "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT RICARDO!" A cracking sound resounded through the air. The camera failed to process a clear image of Drake; instead he quickly turned into a shadow. The shadow then tackled Ricardo, as he got sent flying through the air, and crashed in front of the missionary desk.

There he was, in the center of the room, with his back slouched and lowered head were clear. His blazer was scuffled with blood and dust, and his hair became disheveled. With his bloody left hand, he gripped onto his right arm.

The huge bracelet was not on his wrist anymore. Behind Drake was the separated armlet, still incased in ice on the wall.

Black tentacles and faint dark mist wrapped his arm, while Drake gripped on it even tighter. He collapsed on one knee, and writhed at the pain. Still on the ground, Ricardo pointed his gun knife at Drake once more. Hearing another click, Drake forced himself to roll out of the line of fire. The bullet missed, and instead, it hit the block of ice, and shattered it, causing an exploding sound. The armlet fell to the ground as it broke free.

"_Damn you!"_

Drake scrambled to get up, and ran up to the higher floor. He gripped on his arm, as he escaped from Ricardo, disappearing into the foggy mist.

"_You're not getting away, dammit!"_

Ricardo pursued chase as he vanished into the haze.

* * *

The screen suddenly went black.

"What? Is that it? Don't tell me that's it! We still don't know what happened to him after they disappeared." panicked Kota.

"That's the only video we have Kota." said Sakuya in a low voice. "It's the only recording we found."

"…"

"Let's review what know so far," announced Sakaki. "First off, Ricardo intruded in the den by hijacking the security system. He held the god eaters that were in the main hall, hostage. He then contacted Drake, by using Lindow's phone, and threatened him."

"I was with Drake at the time. We were both in Clara Vincenzo's grave." added Alisa.

"At that time, he disguised his voice by using a voice changer. You two then arrived, only Ricardo's men ambushed you two as well. After that, Ricardo shot Drake in the heart, however, for some odd reason, he survived that shot. His eyes glowed at that time."

"I don't believe that Drake just managed to 'survive' that gunshot." replied Soma. "That was a fatal attack, and yet he's still alive."

"Huh, could Drake have something in his body that's different, other than the oracle cells?" wondered Federico. "Ricardo mentioned about something about the 'Pulsation of the Infinite' and how they failed to destroy it."

"I'll try looking into that later, see what I can find." answered Sakaki. "Now where was I? Oh, right; Drake fought Ricardo and a few of his men. During that time, Drake managed to steal a chloroform gas grenade, and later released it. After the chloroform grenade exploded, Drake arrived down to the lower level. From what we see in the video, I believe Drake was attempting to retrieve the security system. The two had another fight, and Drake stabbed Ricardo with his hand."

"….." Alisa showed a grim expression as Sakaki said that.

"However, Ricardo was un-phased by that attack, and was clearly alive."

"From that video, since he was clearly bleeding, and wore no chest armor, we suspect that he's not human." stated Federico.

Sakaki nodded. "Right, and during that second fight, Drake ripped out his armlet. By leaving the bloody handprint and armlet, we managed to find these. After that, the two vanished into the upper level of the main floor."

"I suspect that Drake may have escaped to the helipad." said Sakuya. "He wouldn't go to the elevator, because he would be trapped as Ricardo is chasing him."

"Most likely; the only things we don't know so far is Ricardo, his relation to Drake, and a woman named Clara Vincenzo. We can put the whole matter of Dalarik aside for now. Right now, I want everyone here to continue looking for clues. If you find any new information be sure to contact everyone else."

They all nodded.

* * *

MEANWHILE, IN THE HANGAR

A lone girl stood typing in front of the terminal. She did not wear her usual worn out mechanic gloves, as they were placed on the floor, lying beside her feet. She scratched her head, ruffling her medium short grey hair. She scowled at the terminal and sighed. She mumbled to herself,

"Why are you always so secretive? I can tell just by the first look on the situation when that guy intruded here. You're obviously keeping something from us, Drake. Just like that time when Lindow was found, after he went missing. Now you've gone and disappeared too; you're acting a lot like Lindow you know that?"

Licca lowered her hands. In the corner of the hangar doors, a faint glint shimmered on the floor. Licca notices it and approaches it. There, she sees a golden amulet on the floor. _What's this? Some sort of pendant?_ She picks it up, and examines it. As her fingers fiddled with the ornament, she opens the lid, stumbling onto the inside. A picture of a woman with long dark brown hair tied in a side ponytail appeared. Her hair flowed in the wind, while the gentle sunlight showed her smile and pale blue eyes. _Who is this girl?_ Licca examines the backside of the lid. There, she found something engraved.

_Happy birthday Cain_

_May 17 1999_

* * *

End of Chapter 9: Unwrapping the Truth


	10. Chapter 10: Investigation Part 1

Papers were strewn about on the desk. The rustling of the paper was the only sound in the executive office. A lone woman sits in the chair, as she gathers a few sheets in her hands.

Her black eagle-eyed pupils examine the black ink on the white page. She starts rustling through the scattered pages, and occasionally examines a sheet. With one hand, she holds a few sheets, and with the other, she scavenges the scattered papers. She brings a few over to her hand that's holding a small number of pages. Page numbers sit on the bottom of the front sheet, while the Fenrir logo is beside it. The woman re-organizes the pages in her hand by number; as she did, she reads the front paper, while slightly curling her long raven colored hair with her finger.

_God Eater Profile #00291312_

_General_

_Name: Drake Galios_

_Gender: Male_

_Age: 17 years old_

_Date of Birth: tentative-May 17 (Year is unknown; estimation from age is possibly born in 2054)_

_Height: 5 feet, 7 inches_

_Weight: 50 Kg_

_Blood type: O_

_Birthplace: UNKNOWN (Presumably the outer ghetto in the Italy branch, actual location is unknown) _

_Type/choice of weapon (type of gun, type of shield): New-type/short blade (assault gun, standard shield)_

_Class Rank: Lieutenant/ leader of the 1__st__ unit in the Far East Branch_

_Sergeant of the defense team in the Italy Branch_

_Extra notes: Actual date of birth is unknown; the tentative date is the subject's recruitment on the Italian branch._

_Pg. 1_

Tsubaki switches the front sheet to the back of the stack, turning to the 2nd page.

_Health Concerns/Family background_

_List of allergies, symptoms: Penicillin, causes rashes on the skin_

_Anti-bacterial soap or perfumed oils, causes skin to peel off and bleed_

_Father: UNKNOWN_

_Mother: UNKNOWN_

_Siblings/relatives: UNKNOWN_

_Heritage: (It is assumed that his heritage is Italian)_

_Pg. 2_

"…" Appalled by the shortness at the 2nd page, Tsubaki frowns. _What's the meaning of this? How is it that there is almost no data on Drake's personal background?_ She then turns to the next sheet.

_Overall Biography_

_Early Childhood: It is said that Drake Galios has been living in the streets of the outer ghetto in Italy since birth. How this was lead to, is unidentified. His occupation before as a god eater is indefinite; from the subject himself, he has mentioned that he was simply living in the streets of the outer ghetto, with no job whatsoever. Upon which region of the outer ghetto is not specified._

_Recruitment: An analysis of the outer ghetto citizens was held on May 13 2069 in sector B42 for the search of new god eaters.22 people were selected for the test, and only Drake Galios became a match. After several test results, he has been deemed as a new-type god eater, and was later recruited 4 days later._

_Accomplishments: During his time in Italy, the subject has been recognized for eliminating Vajras. The aragami is well-known for its speed and electricity; however, during mission 'Final Hour ', where 4 Vajras destroyed part of the outer ghetto walls, the subject has eliminated all Vajras, all at once, on his own. Since then, other god eaters have made use of his skills for any Vajra extermination missions, and occasional eradication of other large high class aragami._

_Due to his contributions on extermination missions, he has been promoted as sergeant of the defense team. His accomplishments have awarded the young god eater to be transferred to the Far East Branch, by order of Director Von Schicksal._

_(Drake Galios requested Director Von Schicksal to rank himself as rookie in the Far East Branch once transferred; though quite odd, the Director of the Far East Branch accepted Galios's application. It is said that the reason for the change of rank, is to better understand the Far East Branch's operations, and expand the sergeant's abilities and experience of fighting aragami.)_

_In the Far East Branch, Drake Galios is the first new-type god eater to join the Far East Branch. His recruitment was on the same time as Kota Fujiki. As expected, Drake Galios's involvement has given great support for the branch. _

_He later took over Lindow Amamiya's position after he was deemed MIA in the 'Moon in the Welkin' mission. It was an unusual promotion since this was the first new-type leader of the Far East Branch, Contribution to Alisa Ameilla's quick mental recovery and her return to duty has gained much acclaim by the higher ups who have high hopes._

_Drake gained much recognition for taking a major role in preventing Director Schicksal from carrying out the Ark project, and remains trusted by the whole Far East Branch after transitioning to the new order under Acting Director, Paylor Sakaki. Remarkable growth has been seen since the former Director's order, and expectations remain high._

_It is also mentioned that he contributed to the search and rescue of former 1__st__ unit leader, Lindow Amamiya, who was thought to have been killed by the ex-director. This was the highly regarded as a humanitarian act and is recognized as actions of a role model god eater. To note, Lindow Amamiya did not return as 1__st__ unit leader, but currently works under Acting Director Sakaki as a ranger, and mainly serves a role as an instructor for new god eater recruits._

_Pg. 3_

She ponders at the 3rd page, gazing at the biography part. Tsubaki was about to search the mess of white sheets once more, only to be interrupted by the sound of a door hissing. As the door slid itself to the side, an old man entered the executive office. His slicked, dark silver hair appeared under the lights, while his dark auburn jacket hung over his shoulders. A part of his jacket covered his left arm that is in a sling.

"You won't find anything if you just glare at the papers." he said.

"Gen…What brings you here?"

The door closes itself, while Gen jabbed at it with his thumb. "All the youngsters down there are running around like a bunch of headless chickens. I thought I would come over here and find some clues, even if it's just a little. I don't blame them though, since Galios is pretty close with most of them."

"Indeed, especially Alisa." added Tsubaki. "Though she is calm right now, I'm more concerned about her reaction once we find Drake."

"…"

"How is she so far?" asks Tsubaki.

"Whenever I walk around checking on the kids, I always see the young lass with a restless face. Right now, she and Fujiki are scouting his room." Gen glances at the strewn papers on the desk, and sees a few sheets in Tsubaki's hands. "Are you looking into Galios's profile?"

"Yes, I am. And yet, even I'm having difficulties as I search."

"Why's that?" he questioned.

"Director Shicksal doctored parts of Drake's profile. Because of that, I barely have anything that is factual about Drake." Tsubaki sighed dejectedly.

Gen approached the desk and held out his hand. "Mind if I see?"

Tsubaki gives the papers to Gen. As he examines it, and ruffles the papers, he says, "This profile is almost empty on his personal background."

"That's my first thought."

"Mission 'Final Hour', huh?"

"Do you know about it Gen? I've never heard of that mission till now." _Gen might know, since he's the sole survivor of the first batch of god eaters._ Tsubaki thought to herself.

"….I do recall about the news mentioning a single god eater in Italy wiping out multiple Vajras. The strange thing is that the media never revealed the god eater's name; or the details of that accident."

"Did the Italian Branch cover the details of 'Final Hour'?" questioned Tsubaki.

"They might have." he answered." The director of the Italian Branch was constantly swarmed by the paparazzi, since none of the public's questions were answered." Gen hands the profile sheets back to Tsubaki, as she receives it. "Since you're here, I should help out in recovering in Galios's profile."

"Are you not going to 'supervise' our younger god eaters?" grinned Tsubaki.

"If by 'supervise' you mean support, then yes; I have already done my part just by telling them possible locations that might lead to Galios's current position. You, I haven't been giving much."

Tsubaki's grin dropped as she heard that. "If you don't look over the other god eaters, they'll continue to be anxious on Drake's whereabouts. I can-"

"-handle myself?" he interrupted. Gen chuckled a little at that. "You said the same thing to me when you started out as a rookie. I remembered one time you lost your balance, because of the recoil when you first tried to shoot an ogretail."

"Gen, can you please not bring about my history?" she said gloomily. "Besides, that's all in the past; I'm not a rookie anymore."

_Yeah, you're not anymore. All you kids change before I can even notice._ Gen smiled as the thought crossed his head. "Well, putting that aside, I'm still going to help out in salvaging Galios's profiles."

Tsubaki stares at Gen for a few seconds. She then opens her mouth saying, "That stubbornness of yours hasn't changed one bit."

"Hey, I should be the one reminiscing, not the other way around."

Tsubaki smiled at that. Gen sighed and scratched his head. "Well, anyways, let's organize the papers." _How many years has it been since I've done paperwork? I hate it when age takes away my youth._

* * *

"Kota, do you have the master-key card from Doctor Sakaki?" asked Alisa.

"Yeah, I got it right here." Kota waves a card with a Fenrir logo embedded on it. He then slides the card in front of the scanner beside the door. The scanner beeped, and the door slid itself open. The two young god eaters enter the room, and glance around the room. The door slid itself again, closing the entrance.

"Man, makes me wonder how Drake keeps this place so clean, despite being so busy." whistled Kota.

"You could learn a lot from him you know." she scolded.

"Like you're one talk; I heard you're room's all messed up with clothes."

"At least I try to keep it clean. Besides, from what I hear, yours is much worse compared to mine."

"Wait, who told-oh…of course. Of course you would hear it from him."

"Let's not get side-tracked now. We need to find clues. I'll search the left side of the room, Kota you do the other side."

Kota nodded, and the two begin searching Drake's room. Alisa opens a few cabinets underneath the sink, only finding a few bottles of cleaning agents. _Nothing here. _She thought. She closes the cabinets, and then pulls out a few drawers, finding utensils, and saucer plates. _No good._

Meanwhile, Kota pulls out a drawer, located at the end of the bed. As he pulled it out, he only finds clothing; t-shirts, sweaters and pants alike all neatly folded. _Even his dresser is organized._ He then closes the dresser, and pulls out the drawer next to it. Inside sat multiple pocket watches, and a black binder. Some had chains attached to the pocket watches, some did not. A few looked completely new, having scarce scratch marks on the bright or polished metal exterior, while others had a few rusted spots or colored dark metal bodies. Most were silver-colored, or grey, ranging from bright to darkest, dull to shiniest. "Whoa, what's this?" he said aloud.

Overhearing Kota, Alisa turns her head to Kota, and speaks, "Did you find something?"

Kota motioned his head at Alisa, gesturing her to come on over. As she approaches it, she spots the drawer filled with pocket watches and the black binder. Alisa picks up a new one from the drawer and examines it.

"Pocket watches? I didn't know Drake had these antiques."

"I guess Drake has an interest towards them." commented Kota.

As Alisa fiddles with the pocket watch, she presses the top button, having the case flip open. There, the clock face revealed itself along with an intricate design on the face. The seconds hand continuously ticked, while the remaining two hands showed the current time; it said, '6:26'. _Amazing…._ She thought.

Kota takes out another pocket watch, this time an older version, while pulling out the binder as well. The pocket watch he held in his hand is slightly rusted on the outside, while multiple scratch and blade marks accompanied the body. He compares the pocket watch in his hand, and the other in Alisa's hand. "Some of these are old due to wear and tear, while some of these look brand new." Kota then presses the top button, and the case flipped itself open. As he examines the inside, the glass on the watch's face is cracked, and beneath the hands, the time is completely different. The seconds hand didn't move. Kota moves the pocket watch closer to his ear, trying to hear the ticking of the watch. No ticking sound was produced.

"I guess this one is broken." he pointed out.

Alisa looks over the majority of the pocket watches. "So a few of these pocket watches are functional and a few these are not." Alisa then turns her head to the binder in Kota's other hand. "What's that binder, Kota?" she pointed.

Kota brings the binder closer, and opens it. The two examine its insides as they flipped each page. There, they find sketches and cross diagrams of different pocket watches. Details of their individual specificity were written; explanations of almost every part in the pocket watch's anatomy were explained, even right down to their brand's history. Disadvantages and advantages were listed; functionality and performance of each pocket watch were even tested and recorded!

Kota dropped his jaw, stunned, not by the hand-drawn pictures, but by the incredible amount of detail each paper held. "H-holy cow…this binder's practically an encyclopedia of pocket watches. I take back what I said. He's not interested in pocket watches; he's obsessed with it."

_Incredible; looking at this binder, Drake must've been recording these for years._ Alisa then turns to the next page, only finding a lone pocket taped to the backside. She sees a folded paper, tucked neatly in the pocket itself. Curious, Alisa pulls out the bent paper and un-folds it. There, a picture of a woman and man appeared.

The two stood on a large stage, having only the stage lights shine down on them. The woman's long dark brown hair rested on her shoulders, and her pale blue orbs painted her smiling face, as she wore a black and red dress. She held hands with the man beside her, whom looked older than her. The man wore black dress pants and shoes, complimented with a black vest and white dress shirt. His dark blue tie was tucked neatly in his buttoned black vest, visible to all those who see it.

The man had black hair with dark brown highlights and that was messily slicked back, while his red eagle-looking eyes showed themselves. He also bore black facial hair, surrounding his lips and covering his chin.

"Who are these people?" mumbled Kota.

Alisa's eyes perked as she sees a timestamp on the bottom right corner of the picture. "Kota, look at this!" She points her finger to the timestamp, as Kota eyes followed them.

'03/26/1999 18:32'

"Uh, what about it Alisa?"

"You still don't get it? The timestamp is dated in 1999, meaning this photo is at least 72 years old! What's more, this is the era before the aragami appeared." explained Alisa.

"Okay, that's got to be the craziest thing I have ever seen." Kota places the binder on the shelf. "Can I see that Alisa?" As Alisa hands the photo to Kota, he takes a quick glance at the snapshot. He moves his vision to Alisa, taking a quick a look, then back to the photo. He does it again, and again, and again.

Wondering what the young man is comparing, Alisa speaks up, asking, "What are you doing?"

Kota points his finger on the woman. "This girl here looks a little like you, Alisa."

Taken aback by Kota's words, Alisa instinctively examines the photo. "She…does?"

"Yeah, see? You two almost look like twins. Same eye color, face, and hairstyle; though the only difference is that you have different hair colors."

"…" _Now that I look at her, this girl does look like me._

"Is she a distant relative or something?"

Alisa shook her head. "No, or at least, I don't ever recall seeing pictures or talking about this woman in my family background."

Kota then glances over at the fellow beside the woman. He continues eyeing daggers at the chap's face, while Alisa did the same as well. She then took notice of the man's face. "Doesn't this man here look like Drake?" she questioned.

"You mean this old guy here? I can't even tell because of his facial hair." Kota gave a questioned look.

"But look at his eyes Kota; this man here has the same red eyes like Drake. He might be a distant relative of him." clarified Alisa.

Kota folds the photo in his hand. "Well, let's take the shoot, binder and just these two pocket watches. Maybe then, we might uncover more things."

"Kota, wait."

"Yeah?"

Alisa points at the photograph. "There's something written on the back of that picture."

Kota flips the picture, examining its back.

USERNAME: 11TH HOUR

PASSWORD: LAST CHANCE

"What's this? Some sort of login note?" he pondered.

Alisa takes a quick scan at the scribbled note. She then turns her attention to the terminal. "Maybe this username and password are for the terminal. The question is, what, exactly…" Alisa walks over to the terminal, while Kota followed pursuit. There, they enter NORN.

As the two young god eaters enter the terminal, a screenshot appeared on the screen. The screenshot showed the first unit, bunched up together, smiling. Kota and Soma had their heads locked by Drake's arms, while Drake gave a proud smile. Despite having their heads trapped by Drake, Soma and Kota still smiled in the screenshot. Alisa, Lindow and Sakuya stood behind the three.

Alisa and Kota felt a tiny twinge as they saw the screenshot. She then types at the keyboard with her free hand.

"Let's…*sigh* Like I said, let's… let's not get sidetracked." Alisa's lips trembled as she spoke.

"Y-yeah…" Kota grimly responded.

Alisa and Kota search the terminal, only finding the database, item and equipment deals, and personal e-mails from the other god eaters. They continue searching in the terminal, and as time passed, the search became empty, finding no new leads.

"Aw, man!" groaned Kota.

_No login request on anything here._ thought Alisa.

"Now what?"

Alisa rests her hand on the bar that's attached to the terminal. As her fingers grip the underside, she feels a small object sticking out. As she feels it, Alisa crouches at the bar beside her, and looks under. There, she spots a small black chip that's taped to the underside.

"What is it Alisa?" asked Kota.

"There's something taped here." Alisa peels the tape off the black chip. She pulls it out and examines it in her gloved palm.

Kota squinted at her hand, and slowly spots the chip on her black glove. "What's that?"

Alisa picks up the chip with her finger, and turns it. A familiar golden wolf logo with a tusk was printed on it. "This chip is a property of Fenrir."

"Try inserting it in the terminal."

Alisa inserts the chip into a slot located on the keyboard. They stare at the screen as the terminal began to read the chip.

_PROCESSING… PROCESSING…. ACCESS DENIED. PLEASE INSERT ARMLET AND LOG IN PASSWORD._

"Dang it," cursed Kota. "We'll have to get Drake's armlet from doc, huh?"

"You go get the armlet from Doctor Sakaki. I'll continue searching here while I'm waiting for you."

"Got it." Kota leaves the room, having Alisa by herself.

Alisa examines the pocket watch that's still in her hand. She then heard a loud bumping noise outside the door, making her jump a little. Alisa stares at the door wondering what the cause of the noise was. _What was that?_ She walks over to the door and opens it. Nothing was there; just herself at the door of Drake's room, and the sound of the elevator bumping faintly in the distance._ I must have been imagining things._ Alisa steps back inside the room, having the door slide itself, closing the room.

Suddenly, she felt something gripping her mouth and nose. Her hand releases the pocket watch, having it drop to the floorboards. Unable to breathe and about to break free, she then got her shoulders and arms wrapped by another pair of arms. Alisa started flailing her body, trying to pry free from the sudden assault.

"UUUMMMMPPPFF!" she muffled under her covered mouth. _What's going on?!_

"Don't even think about it, Ameilla." whispered a voice.

_Who's there?!_

"If we can't find him, then we can always draw him out. And what better way to do that, than a kidnapping?"

_Oh no! It's the spy!_ Panic rushing her body, and fear suddenly filling her head, Alisa thrashed at the hold, trying to break free. She fought and struggled, flapped and floundered, but as she did, her resistance slowly faltered, and she began to lose consciousness. Alisa's vision began to slowly fade; her eyes drooped, and she became still.

The spy releases Alisa, dropping her to the floor.

"Please, don't think anything ill of me. I'm only a hit man."

_H-hit man?..._ With her last bit of vision fading to black, Alisa barley eyed the spy's face. His long black bangs covered one side of his face, while his right arm was covered in raven colored feathers. Alisa couldn't believe what she saw. "N-no…"she whispered. "It can't be…"

"Oh, it is Alisa."

Alisa whispered in her last breath. "L-Lindow….."

* * *

He touches the concrete ground with his fingers, seeing a dark red splatter on it. He later slicks his fingers on the stained area, only capturing its small dust. The wind blows his dark blue hood along with the blond bangs swaying underneath. The sunset warmed his coat a bit as it shined down on him. Soma stares at the dried up blood spatter on the helipad.

"The blood's dry here too, Sakuya." he answered.

"I see." Sakuya's phone vibrated. She pulls it out, receiving a text from Kanon. "I just got the test results from the medical team. They said the blood spatters are a mix of Drake's and Ricardo's blood."

_So Drake and tighty whities had another fight. _"By the way, Sakuya," said Soma. "I thought you and Lindow were questioning the maintenance unit."

"Lindow said that he got called by Licca. He said it could be a lead."

_Could be? Meaning that guy has no idea, whatsoever._ Soma thought to himself.

* * *

End of Chapter 10: Investigation Part 1

* * *

_Author's note: Sorry for the long update! Been busy with so many things, plus Gen's character here caused me the most grief._

_Since Gen is the old man in the game, I thought I would interpret him as the eldest of the group who looks out for the others, in a fatherly kind of way. Is it weird? Is it not good? Is there something I can improve on? Tell me what you think, because I can't tell myself. Seriously, that guy was the stoic background character, and he didn't get much of the spotlight here, OR in this fandom! Let me know in your reviews._

_By the way, the biography paragraphs that mention Drake's achievements in the Far East Branch are actually Bandai Namco's characterization of the protagonist, referenced from the game itself. Not mine, Bandai Namco's, just so you know. _


	11. Chapter 11: Investigation Part 2

_Author's note: Kudos to all you epic readers out there, for following and favoring my story here, and for being so awesomely patient for another update! Thanks to you guys, I made this chapter extra long, just for you to enjoy. But enough said! Let's read the long awaited chapter. Oh, and don't forget to leave a review! Thanks! =D_

* * *

He holds the glass tube in his hand and examines it. A sickly, looking jet-black liquid sits in the glass tube, as he strangely stares at it with his shifty looking eyes. Sakaki lightly swirls the black liquid in the glass tube. With his other hand, he reaches for a pencil, that's near to a few pieces of paper, along with a glass tube stand. As he began writing in his notes, a young lady's voice called out to him from behind.

"Hey, Doc?"

He stopped writing and turned his head to the woman's voice behind him. "Yes, Kanon?"

Kanon held a few sheets in her hands. "I just finished scanning Ricardo's blood. And well, the results don't make any sense."

Sakaki showed his usual smile. "Nonsense! Anything we find from the gathered evidence is circumstantial; unless we connect what we find, it will bring light to the truth of the matter. Now, what are your findings on Ricardo's blood results?" he asked.

"After several test results... Ricardo's blood is absolutely normal. I found nothing unusual, nothing that stands out within the blood. Even after magnifying the blood through a microscope, there was nothing unusual." answered Kanon, wearing an unsure face.

Sakaki scratches his chin as he heard that. "Really? You found nothing out of the ordinary within Ricardo's blood?"

Kanon shook her head. "No. There's nothing that me or the other medical team members can find."

"I see...well, never fear; I managed to acquire something as I scanned I Drake's blood here." Sakaki held up the tube with the black liquid, showing it to Kanon.

"You did?" she asked, turning her attention towards the tube.

"I mixed a sample of Drake's blood with a sample of aragami blood, and as you can see, this black liquid here is the result. If we magnify the blood sample here with a microscope, we should be able to take a closer look of the cells. Kanon, would you mind getting a petri dish for me?"

Kanon nodded, and headed to a green curtain; there, she pulled it, revealing a bed for patients and a large metal cabinet. As she approached it, and pulled one of the drawers, Kanon began to hear something stomping outside of the sick bay. "Uh, Doc? That sound out there..."

"Ahh, I believe it's coming from the hallway outside; you might want to steel yourself Kanon. " he grinned happily.

Not being able to understand that grinning mask on his face, Kanon stood there, confused.

Ignoring the puzzled expression on her face, Sakaki places the tube on the stand. He waited for a few seconds, while the stomping gradually became louder, until-

"Doc! Do you have Drake's armlet?!"

As if exploding into the room, Kota yelled out his request. A tiny yelp escaped Kanon's lips as the door revealed the loud young man.

"AGH! K-Kota?"

"Before doing that Kota, can you please knock or use the buzzer outside, before storming in?"

"Huh? O-oh...sorry..." Kota dropped his head down, as he apologized, realizing his mistake. "It's just..."

"Your anxious, I know; don't let your anxiety get the better of you. I understand that all of you are worried about him, but in order to bring Drake back, we need to keep a leveled head."

Kota lifted his head, as he listened to Sakaki's words of encouragement.

"Besides, I know we will bring him back. We just need to stop and think, as we gather clues."

"Doc..." whispered Kota.

Kanon watched the two, slowly regaining her composure. She smiled as she listened to Sakaki. _Doc may be a little eccentric, but in his own way, he can be a kind man._

"Now then, what is that you need?" he asked.

"Oh..um...well, I was wondering where you placed Drake's armlet."

Kanon stepped into the conversation, answering him. "Oh, I placed it on the table behind that other curtain." She pointed at it. "But, why do you need it all of a sudden?"

"Me and Alisa found a Fenrir chip in Drake's room. But, we can't open it unless we have his armlet."

"A chip?" echoed Sakaki. "In what part of Drake's room did you find something like that?"

"Alisa found it under the terminal. It was hidden, so we thought it was suspicious. We just can't open it right now." repeated Kota.

"Hmmm..." _A hidden chip found under the terminal? What else could he be hiding? _Sakaki nodded at Kota. "Alright, I understand. But before that," Sakaki stepped over to a nearby drawer. He pulled it out, revealing a few boxes of surgical gloves. He pulled out two pieces, and handed them to Kota. "Wear these gloves once you take out Drake's armlet, and try to be careful with it. We can't let any clues be destroyed, during our pursuit for him."

Kota gripped at the surgical gloves in his hands, and nodded.

Meanwhile, Kanon walked over to the other green curtain and slid it aside. There, a clear plastic bag sat on the table, holding the all-too familiar red bracelet, as if trapping it. Kanon grabbed it, seeing a lable on the front.

_Armlet __#00291312_

___Owner: Drake Galios_

___We'll find him._ She thought. _I know we will, no matter what._

Kanon approached Kota, handing him the armlet. "Let us know what you find, okay?"

"Got it. Oh, I almost forgot." Kota dug in his pocket, searching for the item. He pulled it out, and showed it Sakaki and Kanon.

In his hand was a dull, scratched pocket watch and folded paper. Kota gave short gestures to Kanon, urging her to take them. As she realized the message, she took the two items in her hands.

"A pocket watch, and," Kanon opened the folded paper, revealing the picture of the man and woman. "a picture?"

"I opened one of Drake's drawers, and found a whole bunch of these. Some of them were new, and some of them were broken. I also found a binder filled with recorded profiles of those pocket watches. That photo right there was in the binder as well."

Kanon stared at the picture, hypnotized by the familiar appearance of the two people on the stage. "...Kota, these people on the photo here..."

Kota spotted Kanon's expression as she trailed off. "So you noticed too? That girl almost looks exactly like Alisa, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, she does. But there's something about the man beside the girl. He reminds me a little bit like Drake..."

"Really? Alisa said the same thing, but I still don't see it."

Sakaki moved over to Kanon and examined the photo as well. "Is this girl Clara Vincenzo, Kota?"

He shrugged, becoming unsure. "I don't know. But since this photo was found in Drake's room, it's possible."

"Ah Kanon, may I see that pocket watch in your hand?"

Kanon gave the pocket watch to Sakaki; he began to fiddle with the antique in his hands as he examined it. "A simple hunter cased pocket watch."

"A what now?" asked Kota.

"A hunter cased pocket watch. These type of pocket watches have a metal lid and spring, so that when you press this button on the top here," he presses the button. "it reveals the face of the watch."

"How do you know that Doc?" asked Kanon.

"I know because I have the same type." Sakaki digs his hand in pocket, and reveals his pocket watch. He then presses the button, showing the face to Kanon and Kota. He then inspects the face of the broken pocket watch. "A lot of wear and tear in this one, especially the face. Kota, are most of the pocket watches damaged like this one?"

"No, some of them are brand new, and they all look different."

"Different? Do you mean how they look?"

"Yeah, some had chains attached, some didn't. Most of them had those metal lids, but I think few of them didn't."

"I see...well, I'll try to look into these two items."

"Wait, I'm going need the photo."

"Why?"

"There's a log in note on the back; I need that to open the chip."

As soon as Kota mentioned that, Kanon flipped the photo to its backside, and spotted the scribbled note. Realizing it, Kanon gave the picture back to Kota. "Alright, let us know what you find, okay?"

He nodded. "I will."

With those last words, Kota left the sick bay, leaving Sakaki and Kanon.

* * *

Kota stood in the elevator, hearing the moaning of the gears, and feeling the slight bumps, as it rattled his body. The floor indicator lit a small sign; it read, _Veterans Sec._ As the floor indicator dinged, the doors slid open, revealing the hallway of the floor. Kota stepped out of the elevator, and headed to the door, leading to Drake's room. He pulled out the master key-card from his pocket, and slid it in front of the card reader. The door opened, and he entered.

"Hey Alisa, I got the armlet from Doc. You're gonna have to let me insert the armlet because-"

Interrupting his sentence, Kota stood in the room. Instead of having the sniper new-type here, there was no one but him. Kota moved his vision, examining the room. He began to wonder if Alisa is hiding.

"Alisa?" called out Kota. "Where would she leave at time a like this? Maybe she found something..." he mumbled to himself. The young god eater then took notice of an item on the floor. He approached it, and knelt down, seeing a pocket watch with its polished silver body. Instinctively, Kota picked up the pocket watch. _This is the one that she took out of the drawer...why is it on the floor here? Is she not here on this floor? __If so, then I better call her, and ask her where she is._

Kota stood up and placed the new pocket watch on the coffee table. He pulled out his phone, and dialed Alisa's number. As he heard the ringing in his earpiece, while waiting for the receiver to pick up, Kota jumped as his ears caught a loud ringing.

"Where's that ringing? Is that someone's phone?" Kota searched for the cause of the noise, until he finally found a small device in the corner beside the door.

He stepped over to the small device, finding that it was a phone. He stared at it, as it continuously rang.

"A phone? Wait, could this be..." Trailing off his sentence, Kota pushed the end call button on his phone. The device on the floor stopped ringing.

Kota placed his phone back in his pocket. "Alisa's? Why is it here? How she come she doesn't have this?"

Interrupting his thoughts, Kota began to hear banging outside of the door. He silently yelped, startled by the sudden noise. _Oh jeez! That scared me! When the heck did I get this jumpy?_ Thought Kota. The banging at the door continued; as it did, the banging became gradually louder and more rough. Kota stood up, standing in front of the closed-door, still hearing the constant banging outside. He glanced at the side of the door, finding the speaker and the 'open' button beneath.

He stared at the open button for a few seconds.

_Wait, why am I not answering the door?! It's not like someone will suddenly jump at me...Will they?_

The last thought made him become doubtful, and as it did, the young god eater began to feel nervousness creep up on his neck. The banging outside continued, but as it did, the harsh sounds became more rough. Each time the banging resounded, Kota slowly became stiff. His breath started to feel shallow and short, and his teeth began to rattle as he continued staring at the open button.

Somewhere deep in his head, he screamed at himself to open the door; answer it; just push the button. It's not that hard, yet why was he hesitating? Someone's at the door waiting for a response, so answer it!

Kota gulped, as his throat suddenly became dry. With trembling hands, he shoved Alisa's phone in his pocket. He lifted his now empty hand, and pointed at the 'open' button. As his finger slowly approached it, the shaking in his hand grew more violent. His hand shook so much, it would be so visually obvious if anyone watched him shake in his shoes.

The constant, violent, banging outside didn't calm Kota down.

_Just press it! Just press it! Just press it! Press it to answer the door! It's not that difficult!_

As his finger was just inches away from the open button, the banging suddenly stopped.

"..."

All was still.

All was quiet.

Silence drifted through the air.

Kota's inner voice was now screaming in his head. The sudden silence only terrified Kota more, instead of calming him down. His breathing was now audible; each short breath was like a clock ticking away, as each second slowly passed. His finger was still in front of the open button, still inches away from pushing it.

_If anything tries to jump at me, I'll just fight back._ He thought to himself.

Kota took a deep breath, and exhaled. He breathed in and breathed out. He did it again and again, until his shaking and nervousness slowly backed down.

_Okay, let's do this._

With that last thought, and his choice resolute, Kota pushed the 'open' button.

The door slid itself to the side, but all too fast, and all too quick, a shadow came zooming in on his vision.

* * *

She paced back and forth in front of the couches, while wearing a worried look on her face; her eyebrows furrowed beneath her dark grey bangs, as the anxiety within her grew.

"Where is she? What's taking them so long?..."

Soma, who is sitting on the couches in the main hall, watches Licca worriedly pace back and forth.

"Just wait for her, Licca. Sakuya said that she'll get those two." he replied.

"But we've been waiting for a long time! What's keeping her?"

"...I'd hardly call 4 minutes a long time."

"..."

The elevator in the main hall dinged, catching both of their attention. Licca briskly walked over to the elevator, and waited for it to open. Soma stood up and followed her. As it did, the light floor indicator slowly moved from _Veteran's sec. _to _Entrance._ As the floor indicator finally lit the _Entrance, _the elevator's doors slid aside, revealing the interior. Two familiar figures stepped out.

"Ow...my nose..."

"Sorry, it's just that both of you have never been answering my calls. Plus, you wouldn't open the door."

"You two, what are you going on about?" asked Soma.

Sakuya and Kota turned to him.

"Oh it's nothing you should worry about." said Sakuya.

"Huh?"

As Soma gave a confused look, Kota thought back to the Veteran's Section.

* * *

_The door slid itself to the side, as a shadow came zooming in on his vision. In the next moment, Kota felt a heavy punch on the bridge of his nose._

_"Owww!" he exclaimed._

_"Kota! Oh sorry, I didn't see you there."_

Wait, that voice... _Kota moved the person's hand off his nose, and moved his vision to the person in front of him. "Sakuya? Oh, it's just you." Kota breathed out, relieved to know it was her at the door._

_Sakuya gave a questioned look. "What do you mean, 'It's just you?' You know what? Never mind about that; listen, we have a problem on our hands."_

_"What? What happened?"_

_"I'll show you, just come with me. We don't have time."_

_Sakuya hastily grabbed Kota's arm, and pulled him to the elevator._

_"Whoa, hey!"_

_The two entered the elevator; as they did, Sakuya pushed the button for the entrance, and the elevator began to move. As she turned to Kota and released his arm, she noticed that something was missing; or rather, **someone.**_

_"Where's Alisa? I thought she was with you."_

_Kota rubbed at his nose, trying to dull the pain he got from the punch. "That's what I'd like to know."_

_"What?"_

_"When I got back to Drake's room, Alisa wasn't there. I tried calling her on her phone, but I ended up finding it in Drake's room. You haven't seen her, have you?" he turned to Sakuya._

_She shook her head. "No, I haven't. But if that's the case, where is she?"_

_"I don't know."_

_"I'll just ask Hibari to pinpoint her location for now."_

* * *

Breaking the short silence, Licca speaks up. "Wait, where's Alisa? I thought she was with you Kota."

"I don't know, she just went and disappeared. Let's not mind about that. We can always ask Hibari to locate her. Anyways, Sakuya, you said that we got a problem on our hands. What is it?"

Sakuya pointed to the large monitor in front of them. They all turned their heads to the large TV; the FBS (Fenrir Broadcasting System) was reporting the news.

"We are at the west side of the outer ghetto, where residential areas of sector W52 are currently being destroyed due to several fires."

Kota eyes bulged as he heard the reporter on the news. "WHAT?!" he screamed.

"Soldiers and god eaters from the Far East Branch are currently evacuating the citizens to a safer area; the cause of the residential fires appear to be an inland terrorist attack; any citizens that are currently in the area must evacuate immediately by orders of the Far East Branch."

As the news report laid heavily on Kota's ears, the screen began to show a live video of the said area. The sky that was once filled with the rays of the sunset, was now dark. Nighttime fell, as the stars and moon shone. Buildings on the screen were burning, as the smoke and flames began to flare and arise, lighting the night sky. People on the streets scattered about, as they were being led by the Fenrir soldiers and god eaters, just to get away from the chaos.

A sudden thought came to Kota's head, as both anger and fear were formed in his tone of voice. "Don't tell me! Is this Ricardo's doing?!"

"That's what we'd like to believe but..." said Licca, as she trailed off her words.

"But what?!"

"We just saw on the live video of the person causing the mess."

"Huh?"

"We only saw it for a second but, it was Lindow." said Licca, with a grim tone.

Kota's shoulders drooped. He couldn't believe what he heard. His jaw fell slack, as his mouth was slightly open. Lindow? Him being the cause of this mess? He's the terrorist in the outer ghetto? That can't be!

"That's a lie..." he whispered.

"What?" questioned Soma.

"That's a lie, if I ever I heard of something like that!" Kota raised his voice, with a serious expression.

Soma stared at Kota with a surprised look. It was rare for Kota to show such a serious face, especially outside of battle. He was usually the mood maker of the team, always creating a light, friendly atmosphere. He then smiled at him, and chuckled. "Obviously; we don't know what happened to both of our leaders, but one thing's for sure; if they're blamed for anything, we won't believe it till we hear it from the person themselves. Besides, there's no way Lindow would do this."

Kota nodded at him. "I'm gonna go to the outer ghetto, and help out with the others."

"I'll come along too." added Sakuya. "Ricardo's gotta be behind this, and there's no way I'm going just ignore this."

Licca watched the god eaters; she couldn't help but smile at them.

"Soma." called Sakuya.

Soma turned his attention to Sakuya.

"While me and Kota are in the outer ghetto, I need you to ask Hibari to locate Alisa with her armlet. As for Lindow, see if you can contact him with your phone. Contact me if you ever find them."

He nodded at her. "Got it."

"Kota, let's take the buggy in the lower hangar and head to sector W52. First thing we need to do is evacuate the citizens."

Licca spoke up. "I'll follow you guys to the lower hangar, and open the garage for you. Let's head to the elevator."

Soma ran downstairs to the lower level of the main hall, while the remaining three dashed to the elevator. Silence filled the air as Licca, Kota and Sakuya stood inside. As the elevator slightly rumbled,coming to a stop, the doors slid themselves, and the three bolted out of the interior.

Inside the garage were multiple vehicles, ranging from off-roadsters to different types of buggies, parked row by row. The lights on the cemented walls dimly lit the area.

"Take the one at the front of the garage; there should be a dune buggy there. I'll go get the key for you." ordered Licca.

Sakuya and Kota ran to the very front row of the vehicles, and spotted the dune buggy. They approached it and got in.

Sakuya took the passenger seat, while Kota took the driver's seat. Licca popped in beside Kota. In her hands, she held two items; the key for the dune buggy, and...

"Is that an M4, along with the clips?" pointed Sakuya.

"There's a good chance that the terrorist might still be there, **and** armed. So take this with you in self-defense." Licca propped the gun and clips over to Sakuya's lap. She then handed the key to Kota.

"And here I thought Fenrir only had the god arcs as their weapons."

"Look, it's situations like these if any problems arise within the outer ghetto, we just barley use these things. Anyways, just start the engine, Kota."

"You know how to drive this Kota?" asked Sakuya.

"Yeah, I used this every now and then, whenever I need to go around the outer ghetto." he answered.

The sound of metal clanging both got their attention. The garage door in front of them was slowly rising, as it revealed the dark sky. As he waited for the garage to open, Kota injected the key in the engine, and turned it, hearing the engine roar. As the garage was now fully open, Licca gave the signal for them.

"Go! Now's your chance!"

"Hang on tight, Sakuya." said Kota, as he placed the gear in 'drive'.

Kota lowered his foot on the gas pedal, and with a sudden jerk, he drove out of the garage, and was now driving uphill to the surface. Sakuya gave a slight yelp, surprised by the sudden jerk on the buggy. She held onto one of the railings, and clenched on the gun, given by Licca. Smoothly, Kota turned the wheel to the right, going to the west side of the outer ghetto. He flipped one of the switches on the dune buggy, turning on the headlights. As the buggy went down the road, it left a trail of dust in the air. The wind blew on Kota's beanie, while it blew on Sakuya's raven colored hair.

Sakuya noticed that the gun was not loaded. She grabbed one of the clips on her lap and injected it in the gun, hearing a click.

"Do you know how to use that thing?!" yelled Kota, as he tried to make his voice be audible over the noise of the dune buggy.

"I haven't used this thing for quite some time!" she yelled back. "Sometimes I have for practicing my aim, but this thing's no different when it comes to shooting!"

"Looks like I get to see one of our few best snipers shooting with a real gun!"

"Haha! You flatter me, Kota!" she laughed. Sakuya noticed some smoke arising on her right side. She then saw a intersection that they were approaching. "Kota, turn right at this intersection!"

"I see it!" Kota made another right, as he turned the wheel.

The two god eaters spotted the multiple fires at the next intersection; it was on the left side. Kota stopped at the intersection and turned the dune buggy off. They both stepped out of the buggy, seeing the fire burn the buildings down the street.

"Oh man, you've gotta be kidding me!" panicked Kota.

"Huh?" Down the street, with the fires burning and dancing, Sakuya squinted her eyes._ Wait..what's that over there? Is something moving over there?..._ Realizing what's down the street, Sakuya gasped. "Kota, look out! There's someone over there with a gun!"

"What?!"

_*BANG*_

Instinctively, Kota ducked, while Sakuya hid behind the buggy. "Kota! Take cover!"

Following her orders Kota hid behind the buggy with Sakuya. Looking out at the corner of her eye, she sees a shadow. _Wait, something's not right..._ She squinted her eyes and noticed not one, but two shadows. She ducked back for cover.

"Oh no, this isn't good..." she whispered.

"What, what's wrong?"

"I see the terrorist; or rather, the fake Lindow."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, he's got Alisa as a hostage! What's more, she's unconscious!"

"What?!" Kota was tempted to look at their attacker, but decided not too, as the terrorist has a gun. "Well, how are we supposed to stop that guy?"

Interrupting their conversation, the fake spoke out loud. "I know you're there! If you don't want you're friend to get shot here, I suggest you come out of there!"

"Crap! What do we do?" whispered Kota.

* * *

_MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE..._

The moon shone down on him, as the chilly wind blew on his body. He watches the fires burn below him as he sees four people on the street. Two were in the street on where the fires continue to burn the buildings, while two were taking cover behind some sort of vehicle. He reaches for something on his back; the cold, black steel came in contact with his bare hands. He pointed the item at the scene, and looked through the scope, where he could see the cross-hair inside the scope. He breathed out wistfully.

"Fools." he whispered. "You're out in the open. Rest peacefully."

His fingers slipped on some sort of trigger, and he began to pull it.

* * *

Sakuya and Kota continued hiding behind the buggy, until-

_*BANG*_

The two hear another gunshot, almost as if it roared through the sky.

"What was that?!" yelled Kota.

Sakuya looked back at their attacker; she noticed that the fake wasn't moving. All of a sudden, the attacker collapsed, and dropped the unconscious Alisa.

"Alisa!" cried out Sakuya.

With no hesitation, Sakuya ran over to Alisa and the fake. Kota followed pursuit. As the two approached, Sakuya knelt down and held Alisa in her arms.

"Is she all right?" asked Kota.

"She's fine, she's just unconscious." sighed Sakuya.

The two then turned their attention to the fake. There, a pool of a deep ruby liquid was pouring, pouring out of his head.

"Oh no..." whispered Sakuya.

"H-he was..."

"Shot."

Kota nervously approached the dead body, seeing that a part of the face was destroyed by the shot. It was a mask, and the mask revealed the true face of the attacker.

"This guy disguised himself as Lindow." Kota answered grimly. "But, who shot him?"

"Let's worry about that later. We need to head back to the den, and attend to Alisa."

"Right."

Sakuya lifted Alisa, and carried her to the buggy.

* * *

He watched the three god eaters take their leave, as they drove back to the den. He then looked back to the dead body. "Hmph, the damn fool went and disobeyed my orders." He scoffed at the body, as he said that. He then looked up to the moon. "Quite the beautiful moon tonight." The glow of the moon shone down on his face. As it did, his trademark mask revealed itself, while his long, pony tailed, dark brown hair, was blown by the chilly wind.

* * *

End of Chapter 11: Investigation Part 2


	12. Chapter 12: Bonds Between God Eaters

_Author's note: Before reading on, I inserted a few lyrics of another song. It's called Do for Love by Lotus Juice, sung along with Yumi Kawamura. If you wanna know the tune, click on my profile for the link. Please note that the lyrics are not official here, as I wrote these by ear, so don't ask for the actual lyrics, cause I don't know it. If you wanna check out more of Lotus Juice's songs, click on the link in my profile to jump to his official site. _

_Do for Love is created by and belongs to Lotus Juice and Yumi Kawamura, composed by Shoji Meguro. The song comes from the album, Carpe Diem; credits to the youtube user, xcqThieves, for uploading the song on youtube._

* * *

_She stares at him, as he sees him on the couch. His eagle-shaped eyes were closed, and the sound of his light snoring was heard. Both of his ears were covered with his yellow headphones; she approached him and slowly sat beside him. As she did, she could faintly hear the music from his headphones._

He's sleeping while listening to his music again... How odd. Come to think of it, I wonder what kind of music he listens to. _The girl thought to herself. Curiosity getting the better of her, she slowly got closer to the sleeping man; she moved her long silver hair behind her ear, and placed it closely to his headphones. Her eardrums perked at the faint sound as she began to hear the lyrics:_

_"I like the way you are, I love the way you do, _

_I like the way you are, I love the way you do, _

_I don't need no guarantees, cause I don't know I somehow I know the way you used to go."_

_As the song continued, she began to hear the singing in another language unknown to her. The singing continued until she began to hear English once more:_

_"Your voice is fluid  
_

_It's tone alone is relaxing you right a look when, __but a few right cruel damn words changed the course and my life, __kinda is energy source_

_I wanna see my dream with my eyes open, __work in a studio, __no more joking, __eager to grab that token, __so I can take you out,_

_living this like a notion,_

_my motion toward you is deeper than any sea, everything they usually see_

_your crevasses is color to the scenery, so vivid, truth exhibit to murder me_

_I'm thinking that's what's really important, don't wanna share any of all portion_

_we make it right girl, no distortion, when love is already in at a station._

_I'd do it for love..."_

_As Alisa continued listening to Drake's song, she felt something landing on top of her hat. In the next moment, her red hat was pulled down to her eyes, blocking her vision._

_"Ah! H-hey!"_

_"I'm awake you know."_

_She heard a low, familiar voice. "Ah.." Alisa lifted her hat off her eyes, and made eye contact with Drake. Her pale blue orbs stared at his scarlet ones._

_He then pulled his vision away. Drake pulled out some sort of black device out of his pocket; it had the functions of a touchscreen. It was his mp3 player; Drake tapped on it, and pressed the 'pause' button. He took off his yellow headphones, letting them hang on his neck. "I see that you hold curiosity to my choice of music, Amiella."_

_The silver-haired Russian became baffled as she heard that. "Wha?! H-how did you know?"_

_"I've noticed that you seem to approach me every time I'm asleep."_

_"Uh..."_

_"Why is that Amiella?" As Drake asked that, he made eye contact with her._

_Alisa couldn't help but stare at his scarlet-colored eyes. She became hypnotized, as he continued gazing into her pale blue eyes. A few moments of silence between the new-types passed. Alisa faintly moved her mouth, but couldn't produce any words. Her brain tried to form the words for her answer, and she bit on her lip. After what seemed like forever for her to answer, she began to speak._

_"T-that's because..."_

* * *

The smell of disinfectant tickled her nose. Her face scrunched as her consciousness began to surface. She slowly opened her eyes, her vision slowly turning from black to white. As her eyes gradually opened, her vision became more clear, and she sees a white surface.

Alisa grunted, and began to feel a sudden pain on her head. She lifted herself and sat up. Alisa instinctively held her head with her hand, as she was greeted with a migraine. She noticed her current attire was changed as she stared at her body. Instead, her body was now donned with a hospital gown. Alisa looked around the room, letting her gaze wander.

"I'm... in the sick bay?..." she mumbled to herself.

_What happened? I remember that Kota and I were searching Drake's room, and then... _As her mind wandered off, Alisa recalled the sudden attack. _That's right! I was attacked by Lindow!_ As the thought crossed her head, Alisa started to think back on the attack. As she recalled it, her attacker's face began to shower Alisa's thoughts with doubt.

_...No, that's not right...Lindow would never attack me...He would never kidnap me... _Alisa shook her head, as her doubt only grew.

_If I remember correctly, the attacker said that he was a hit-man...So then, could he be one of Ricardo's men?_

As Alisa continued recalling her kidnapping, she then heard a door hissing. She turned her attention to the door, and spotted a familiar face. Her medium short raven-colored hair caught Alisa's attention.

"Alisa, you're awake!" smiled Sakuya.

"Sakuya..."

The medical sniper approached Alisa, and sat beside her. "How are you feeling?"

"I just have a migraine; other than that, I feel fine." she answered. "How long was I asleep?"

"Only since last night. Alisa, do you remember about..."

As Sakuya trailed off, Alisa caught on to what she was about to say. "About my kidnapping? I only remember about a Lindow look-alike attacking me."

"Look-alike?" echoed Sakuya. "So then, you realized that the one who kidnapped you, isn't Lindow?"

"Yes; in fact I was just thinking about that. I know that Lindow wouldn't kidnap me. He's not like that."

Sakuya couldn't help but smile at Alisa's words.

"Speaking of which, where is Lindow?" asked Alisa.

"I don't know; right now, Soma and a few of the other god eaters are trying to find him in the outer ghetto."

"The outer ghetto?" repeated Alisa.

"He came across Lindow's phone in the southern part of the outer ghetto. Also, there's one more thing you need to know about; the things that happened while you were unconscious."

"..."

Sakuya explained the events of what happened last night. The residential fires, how they found Alisa being held hostage, the fake Lindow terrorizing sector W52, including the death of the fake.

"I...see. So the terrorist not only caused the fires, but was also shot by another person..."

"I heard from Hibari that Kota and the 2nd unit are at the crime scene. Right now, they're trying to figure out who killed our terrorist."

As Alisa heard that, she stared at Sakuya. Noticing her pale blue orbs eyeing daggers at her, Sakuya spoke up.

"Something the matter, Alisa?"

"Sakuya...you never gotten to the crime scene, have you?"

Sakuya gave Alisa a surprised look, as she asked that. "No...how did you know?"

"..."

* * *

_"I see that you hold curiosity to my choice of music, Amiella."_

___"Wha?! H-how did you know?"_

* * *

"...I just did." she replied. "You're planning to go there, aren't you?"

Sakuya nodded.

"Then, let me come with you. Even though I wasn't present for a time, I may be of assistance to the investigation of our fake. Besides, I'm worried about Lindow." Alisa pulled the sheets away from her, and stood up.

"Alright then. Your clothes are on top of the metal cabinet behind that curtain." Sakuya pointed at the green curtain behind Alisa.

Alisa walked over to the green curtain and pulled it. She spotted her clothes on top of the metal cabinet. Alisa pulled back the curtain and began changing into her usual attire. She slipped on her usual red plaid skirt and mutina jacket.

As Sakuya waited for Alisa, she called out to her. "Hey Alisa,"

"Yes?"

"I heard from Kota about what you two found in Drake's room."

While conversing with Sakuya, Alisa began to put on her boots. As she finished, she then grabbed her red, plaid hat. "Oh, yes. I assume he showed you the Fenrir chip, and mentioned the pocket watches?"

"Yeah, he did. We're weren't able to open the chip because we were too busy with the civilians, and the damages... He even showed me the photo you two found in Drake's binder."

_Ah, that's right, the photo. I can never forget the face of that girl._ Alisa aimlessly stared at her hat as she heard that. "I suppose you noticed the appearance of the two people in the picture?"

"Well, only the girl. The girl in the photo looks almost exactly like you Alisa."

Alisa placed her hat on her head, and pulled back the curtain. "Kota told me that. That girl in the photo; could she be Clara Vincenzo, the one Federico mentioned?"

"That's what I first thought too, but that raises an inconsistency. And along with that, it just brings more questions."

"Inconsistency? What do you mean?"

"The time-stamp." answered Sakuya. "Alisa, I want to be sure about this; when you and Drake were at the grave, what did Drake say to Clara's grave?"

"Hmmm, he was praying his respects to Clara's death; most of it was spoken in Italian... Oh, now I remember! He said that it's been 18 years since Clara's passing. But, wait... that doesn't make any sense."

Sakuya nodded at her. "That's what's bothering me. The time-stamp in the photo is dated in 1999, which is over 70 years ago. If the girl in the photo really is Clara Vincenzo, then why would Drake say that's it's been 18 years since her passing? Federico said that she died to due to a heart attack. Was it due to her old age?"

"But then, why would Drake, who's 17 years old, know of a woman who passed away 18 years ago?"

"..."

"..."

A moment of silence filled the room.

"This is so confusing..." sighed Alisa.

"Yeah..." Sakuya agreed, dismayed by the increased amount of mystery in their investigation.

Alisa couldn't help but mouth the greatest question. "...Just what did Drake do before joining Fenrir?"

The silence became heavy as Alisa asked that. Exactly what did Drake do before he joined Fenrir? What exactly did he do to grab Ricardo's attention, and who is he? What's the relation between Drake and Clara? What's Ricardo's motives for threatening Drake? Too many questions arose, leaving the ladies puzzled by the increased mysteries.

Sakuya then broke the stiff silence."...There's still too little evidence. We won't be able to understand the whole situation unless we gather more clues."

"Then I guess all we can do is blindly pursue?" asked Alisa.

"I'm afraid so." replied Sakuya.

"..."

"While we're on the subject on evidence, how about I share my findings?"

Alisa's ears perked. "Oh, that's right, I almost forgot. You and Soma were searching the helipad right?"

"Yeah, we were. After escaping from Ricardo, Drake must have escaped to the helipad. And here's what Soma and I found: dried bloodstains that are a mix of Drake's and Ricardo's blood, and a missing helicopter."

Alisa began to deduct the clues that were found. "The bloodstains, I can understand. Drake and Ricardo must have fought each other again, but what about the helicopter?"

"From what we know, we believe that Drake may have taken the helicopter."

"Drake? That makes sense; Drake wanted to escape from Ricardo, but to go so far as to take a helicopter? Why do that?" pondered Alisa.

"...I think I may know why Drake would fly one of our helicopters."

"And what's that?" she asked.

"It may be because of the oracle cells devouring him."

Alisa silently gasped. "...That's right... the oracle cells are going out of control within him. If any of the civilians noticed that Drake's body is in the process of aragami infection..."

"It'd cause a massive panic within the outer ghetto." Sakuya answered grimly.

_I'd hate to imagine the panic that would be stirred if that happened. What's more, almost all the people in the main floor were knocked out because of that chloroform grenade Drake threw. It'd just cause more chaos if the civilians found out about that ambush by Ricardo. _Alisa thought darkly.

"But, if you think about it more clearly, this is actually a good thing..." grinned Sakuya.

Alisa became puzzled Sakuya's words. "A good thing? How so?"

"The Fenrir helicopters are made of anti-aragami materials in order to repel any aerial-type aragami away for transportation purposes. If we have the Research Unit locate an area where there is a least amount of aragami activity in one area..."

"We might be able to find Drake!" smiled Alisa, as she found out about Sakuya's plan.

"Let's go talk to Doctor Sakaki, and inform him. Last time I saw him, he was in the director's office with Tsubaki and Gen."

Alisa nodded, and the two left the sick bay, as they headed to the Director's office.

* * *

Tsubaki, Gen, and Sakaki listened to Sakuya as she explained her lead to the search and rescue.

"Find the area with the least amount of aragami activity?" echoed Tsubaki. "I was given a report by one of our pilots about a missing helicopter...Alright, I'll have the Research Unit look into this. I'll inform you once they have the results."

Alisa gave a sigh of relief, and smiled. "Thank you, Tsubaki. If you'll excuse us, we need to get going."

A small smile crept on Gen's mouth as he watched Alisa.

"Hold it right there you two." intervened Tsubaki. "Before you take your leave, you should have a word with Licca. I believe she has something that will help you on your investigation. Head to the entrance; she should be there."

"Okay; thanks Tsubaki." said Sakuya.

The two left the Director's office, and as the door hissed and closed, the room was now left with Tsubaki, Gen and Sakaki.

"That's strange." said Sakaki.

"What is?" asked Tsubaki.

"I thought you meant that by talking to Licca for info, it would help the investigation on Drake **and** Lindow."

_So did I. _Thought Gen.

"Wasn't Licca the last person who talked to Lindow before he disappeared? Why say that it would help the investigation only for Drake and not for both?"

"There have been reports of a few bullet holes in the hangar doors. Kusunoki was the first person to enter the scene, before she requested for a full investigation. In other words, she'll provide more info for the investigation on Galios."

Sakaki stared at Tsubaki. As he did, a sudden thought clicked in the doctor's brain, as if a light bulb went off. "In other words, you're giving those two encouragement, so that they'll be able to continue their search on your little brother."

"..." Annoyed as she heard that, Tsubaki gave a glare to Sakaki as he continued grinning at her. The longer she stared at that masked smile, it fueled the annoyance within her.

"Ah, that sounds like you." commented Gen.

"Though I do wonder why Tsubaki would keep that part a secret..."

"Isn't obvious, Sakaki? Tsubaki is entrusting the search for Lindow to the kids."

"Ah, now that makes sense!"

"..."

As Tsubaki continued listening to their conversation, she approached the two that were standing next to each other. With her right hand, she lightly smacked Gen's head with her clipboard, and with her left, she gave a light punch on Sakaki's forehead.

"Ow." The two said in unison.

* * *

_MEANWHILE, IN THE ELEVATOR..._

Sakuya and Alisa stood in the elevator, as they waited for their destination.

"Hm..."

Alisa noticed Sakuya was in deep thought. "What's wrong, Sakuya?"

"Huh? Oh, I was just thinking about Tsubaki."

"Tsubaki? What about her?"

"Ever since the accident last night and the whole matter with Lindow, I haven't seen Tsubaki lose her composure."

_Ah, that's right, Lindow and Tsubaki are siblings. _"It'd be rare to see someone like Tsubaki lose her composure."

"Haha, nobody but me and Lindow have seen her lose that cool-headed act of hers. I can't remember the last time she did." chuckled Sakuya.

"Come to think of it, I've seen you, Lindow and Tsubaki occasionally hang out together. Even before you and Lindow got married. Were you three close?" asked Alisa.

"Huh? Oh yeah, we never told anyone else but Drake."

"About what?"

"Me, Lindow and Tsubaki; we've known each other since we were kids. We were always together since childhood, even when we were chosen as matches for god eaters as we grew up, we still stuck out together. Tsubaki was the first to join, a few years later, Lindow was recruited as well. I was the last one to join our trio, switching from a missionary attendant, to a god eater."

"Childhood friends, huh?...Somehow, I can imagine you three playing together."

"When the search is over, maybe I can tell you a few stories from our childhood. Try not to tell Tsubaki though, okay? Knowing her, she'd give me a fierce discipline for sharing private stories." Sakuya smiled and placed her finger in front of her lips.

"I'll keep that in mind." Alisa smiled, and lightly chuckled.

* * *

End of chapter 12: Bonds Between God Eaters

* * *

_Author's note: I'm going end the chapter here, because the fic is getting darker and more serious as we go. The reason I've ended the chapter here, is because I want to keep you readers to continue reading this story, by adding a bit of a happy atmosphere. If I kept it serious most of the time, you readers out there would have a hard time continuing onward. So, at times, I will update chapters that are relaxing and hopeful, to counter the doom and gloom, but I will still add a few dark moments._

_It's these little things that matter, right?_

_One more thing; for those who don't know, Lindow, Sakuya and Tsubaki knowing each other since childhood is actually true. Yes, these three have known each since childhood. When I was replaying Gods Eater Burst, and by replay, I MEAN RESTART THE GAME, I talked to Lindow, and during the beginning, he mentioned that he, Tsubaki and Sakuya, have known each other since childhood, so I thought I'd use this for the chapter here._

_Phew! Long author's note. Sorry, I try to keep these notes short, so you don't read me blabbing on. As always, leave a review and tell me your thoughts._


	13. Chapter 13: Investigation Part 3

He walks down the pathway, as very few people walked about. It's an early daybreak, so he did not expect many people through the streets in the outer ghetto. The cold wind gave a slight chill to his body, even though he wore his dark, blue coat. The sunlight gave the sky a bright orange, hinted with a tint of red. He stuffs his gloved hands in his pocket, and continues ambling down the pathway. He touched his phone in his pocket, and he began to toy with the object in his palm.

_The one thing that I hate about living in the desert; cold mornings and nights. _Soma thought bitterly to himself. He approached an intersection, and turned right. As he did, he encountered a large wall, higher than the buildings in the street. It was the barrier that surrounded the outer ghetto. Soma turned his gaze to the enormous top of the wall. He sees a few god eaters walking at the uppermost top of the barrier. Most likely patrolling for any signs of activity outside or within the outer ghetto.

He scoffed at the wall, annoyed by his search. _Dammit! I revolved around the south part again! Where the hell is that guy? I found his phone on the ground here in this part of the outer ghetto, so Lindow has to be here... somewhere._

Suddenly, Soma began to feel his phone vibrate in his hand, while hearing its loud ringing. He pulled out his phone, and the screen revealed the name of the caller.

_KOTA FUJIKI_

Soma pressed the answer button and brought the phone to his ear. He decided to skip the short 'Hello?' and get straight to the point. "Kota, did you find anything on Lindow?"

Kota didn't bother to comment or joke on Soma's question. "I asked a few of the civilians if they saw him, but no luck. However, I've heard from Brendan that Annette managed to come across a few of Lindow's feathers in sector S36. She's waiting for you, so head over there."

"Got it. Also, who's looking over the crime scene?"

"Tatsumi and Karel, I think. Plus, you won't believe this, Soma. Karel was tracing the bullet trajectory with one of the computers, and as he did, Tatsumi found a sniper rifle on one of the rooftops! The medical team just scanned the item, and from the looks of it, it was recently shot."

"So you found the murder weapon." clarified Soma.

"Well, yeah basically. Also, there's one more thing that Tatsumi found."

"Which is?"

"A piece of paper was sitting beside it. There's some sort of emblem on it."

"What does it look like?"

"Some sort of spear. It's surrounded by lightning and it's painted in black ink."

"..." Soma pondered at the said evidence. The gears in his head began to turn, as he began to come up with a theory.

Kota noticed the silence. "Soma?"

"Get Tatsumi to show the emblem to Federico. He might know what the emblem is."

"How do you know if Federico knows this emblem?" asked Kota, not understanding his order.

"...Just do it. Federico will give you the answer. I gotta get going, Kota. I'll see you later."

"Huh? W-wait! You still haven't-"

Not letting him continue, Soma quickly hung up on Kota. He scowled at his phone and clicked his tongue, as he became displeased by the clues that were found. In the next moment, Soma ran through the streets of the outer ghetto, proceeding to sector S36. He gritted his teeth, and underneath his hood, he wore a face filled with anxiety.

_This isn't good. I don't know the meaning behind that emblem, but if my guess is right, that emblem could only mean it was **him**. Just from that video, we knew that we should be careful, should we ever meet that guy. I thought it was unusual for him to suddenly start a terrorist fire in the outer ghetto, but the death of that fake changes everything._

_Who would've thunk it that tighty whities would stoop this low... He never planned the terrorist fire from the start; the terrorist himself did. The terrorist must have ruined Ricardo's plan. Meaning, Ricardo's got bigger plans for us. That's why he killed him. Ricardo killed his own henchmen._

_That guy isn't just an enemy to us; he's an enemy to **everyone**._

Soma bitterly frowned at the thought, and began to speed up his pace. In his line of work, he met his fair share of opposing people; people who always resisted against the god eaters. Hell, even his own father turned against Fenrir, even though he was one of the founding members. He was willing to bring about the end of the world. But compared to Ricardo, there was just one thing that made Johannes and Ricardo different.

Their motives to kill.

Johannes would kill if it meant saving another person.

But not Ricardo. He would kill purely for his own selfish reasons and gain. Whatever they may be.

Never in his life has he met Ricardo. Never in his life has he met someone so violent. Never in his life has he met someone who would just gun down their own member right in front them. Never in his life has he met such a terrifying person.

* * *

The elevator dinged, as the floor indicator lit the 'entrance' sign. It dinged once more, and the doors slid themselves, revealing the entrance. Sakuya and Alisa stepped out of the elevator; as they did, Alisa noticed the drastic change in the main hall.

"The entrance is practically empty." she said.

"That's to be expected; after the mess that terrorist caused, everyone is practically busy with the remaining mess. Now where could..."

Coming in just in time, a woman's voice called out to them from downstairs. "Sakuya!" Licca ran up the stairs and approached them. "Alisa! I heard what happened from Kota and Sakuya. Are you alright?"

Alisa gave a reassuring nod. "Yes, I'm okay. I'm just having a bit of a headache, that's all."

"I see."

"So Licca; I heard from Tsubaki about you having some info for the investigation on Drake."

"Ah, right. I was so focused on last night, that I completely forgot to tell you guys. When I was in the hangar, I found some traces that Drake and Ricardo left behind."

"What are they?" asked Sakuya.

"There were some bullet holes in the hangar doors, plus I found this." Licca reached in her pocket and pulled out a golden amulet.

"Is that some sort of locket?" questioned Sakuya.

"Yeah, plus I think it belongs to Drake."

Alisa took the golden trinket and began examining it. As she fiddled with the amulet, she opened it. Underneath the lid was a picture of a woman and beside it, engraved letters. Alisa became shocked as she saw the face.

"This girl here..." she said aloud.

"Do you recognize the girl, Alisa?" questioned Licca.

Sakuya stepped over to Alisa and eyed the inside. She too, became shocked as she saw the tiny picture. "Wait a minute, this girl here..." Sakuya slipped her fingers in her pocket, and pulled out a small folded paper. It was the photo that Kota and Alisa found in Drake's room. She unfolded it, and placed it near the golden amulet comparing the two photos. "The girl in the amulet, and the girl in the photo here... it's the same person."

Curious what she's talking about, Licca approached the two and examined the items. Upon first glance, she recognized the connection between the amulet and the photo.

Alisa spotted the engraved letters on the backside of the lid, and read it aloud. "Happy Birthday Cain. May 17 1999."

"Both the photo and the locket here are dated in 1999, and they both have the same girl." Sakuya confirmed the connection between the two items.

"I heard from Doctor Sakaki and Federico about Dalarik and Clara Vincenzo." replied Licca. "The girl in the photo; is she Clara Vincenzo?"

"She might be. Since Drake has two photos of her, the girl could be Clara. But still... it doesn't make any sense..." Alisa gave a confused look, bewildered by the items.

"Let's just assume that the girl in the photos here is Clara for now. We still don't know anything about her." said Sakuya.

Alisa turned her gaze to the inscribing on the backside of the lid. Another question popped into her head, as she stared at it. "Cain... Ricardo kept on calling Drake 'Cain'. So, is 'Cain' Drake's real name?"

Sakuya's ears perked by the name. "Cain? Cain...Cain... I think I've heard that name before, but where?"

Licca began contemplating on the name as well. _It couldn't be, could it? Is that what Ricardo was referring Drake as?_ "Actually, I may know the name. Follow me, we're going to old man Sakaki's lab."

Sakuya and Alisa exchanged puzzled looks to each other. They shrugged it off, and followed Licca.

The three entered into the doctor's lab, seeing the usual few scattered cords on the floor from said owner's chair. Licca stepped over to the coffee table, seeing piles of books spread about. She began searching through the pile of books, and said aloud,"That's weird; that book isn't here... I'm sure Sakaki had it."

"What are you looking for Licca?" asked Sakuya.

"It's not here...then, where's that other one?..." After scouring through the piles of books, Licca found the book she's looking for. "Here it is!" She showed the book to Sakuya and Alisa. Seeing the front cover of the book she's holding, Alisa read the title aloud.

"'Guidebook of the Bible'?"

"The Bible?" echoed Sakuya. "As in the Holy Bible, the Holy book of scriptures from Christianity?"

"That's right." Licca opened the guidebook in her hands, and began flipping through the pages. "Let's see... Ah, here it is:

_'The Curse of Cain'_

_In the book of Genesis, there was the first human family. The first man and the first woman; Adam and Eve. The first child that Eve bore; Cain. The second child after Cain's birth; Abel. Two children, two brothers._

_Cain and Abel are the sons of Adam and Eve. The two brothers were farmers; Cain was the crop farmer, and Abel was the __shepherd. Since the brothers were the children of Adam and Eve, they were taught by their parents to sacrifice an important possession of theirs to God. The reason is because Adam and Eve had sinned, and their sins were represented by their nakedness. God is the only one who can cover their sins, and so He killed animals to make clothes for the two.  
_

_To cover one's sins, one would have to spill blood._

_Abel sacrificed one of his favorite sheep, while Cain only gave produce that was little of importance to him. As the two brothers gave their sacrifices to God, it was then noted that God began to favor Abel's sacrifices over Cain's. Cain took notice of this, and grew jealous of his younger brother. Thinking that God loved Abel more than Cain, he became consumed by rage and depression. Why did God favored Abel over Cain? It was because of Cain's unfaithfulness and selfishness towards Him. _

_God taught Cain to follow what Abel has done, but he did not listen. _

_In the end, Cain murdered his own brother._

_Cain was the first to kill, and Abel was the first to die._

_God noticed that Abel was not present, and asked Cain, "Where is thy brother, Cain?" Cain lied to Him that he does not know; God saw through Cain's lie, and gave him punishment._

_The __indictment? Immortality, while forever being a wanderer and fugitive on Earth._

_Cain was granted a mark by God, as a sign of his punishment. This punishment was known as the, 'Curse of Cain'._"

"The 'Curse of Cain'..." mumbled Sakuya. "I get it now. So that's why the name was bothering me..."

"Immortality, and forever being a wanderer?" repeated Alisa. "But that's too cruel for a punishment."

"Perhaps. But the reason that He granted immortality on Cain, is a sign of God's mercy. Though Cain cannot die, the immortality is an indicator to God's wrath. Should anyone try to kill Cain, said person would receive harsher judgment then that of Cain. And besides, the immortality is there to make Cain realize his wrongdoings." explained Licca, as she closed the book.

"..."

"In the recording, Ricardo kept on cursing at Drake. So then, Ricardo did that by referring to him the Bible. Is that it?" Sakuya tilted her head. _Now that I think about it, back at the ambush, I heard Ricardo say 'Bibbia'. I think it means, 'Bible'._

"Yeah. Cain was referred as 'The Evil One'. The source for human's sins."

"So what? Is Ricardo calling Drake an immortal murderer? If he is some sort of 'immortal being', that still doesn't fully explain of him enduring that gunshot. Or even what's inside his body." said Alisa, as she dismissed the idea.

"That's true, but if Drake is being referred as Cain, then that just opens up new possibilities." replied Licca.

"How so, Licca?" asked Sakuya.

"Well, one, it would explain Ricardo's motives for ambushing us. Drake was about to be kidnapped. That we know of, but why? It would have to do something about the Pulsation of the Infinite. And two, it brings some light to Ricardo's identity. Somehow, and in someway, he's definitely involved with Drake's so-called, 'immortality' and knows of it. I know it's not the best lead, but it's all we've got. As Doctor Sakaki would say, 'any evidence we find is circumstantial'."

"Hmmm...By the way Licca, how do you know something like this?" asked Alisa.

"The aragami are always referred to as the gods and goddesses from different cultural mythologies. You'd be surprised by how much the research and maintenance units talk about it. Gives me a headache." grinned Licca.

* * *

He sits at the couch, staring at a book in his hands. The reader became absorbed by the text, shutting out the world around him. He was alone in his room, only hearing the faint hum of the terminal and furnace. He occasionally flips the book's pages, having its smooth surface and thin paper rub against his fingers.

_9 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"_

_"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"_

_10 The Lord said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. __11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. __12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for will be a restless wanderer on the earth."_

_13 Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is more than I can bear. __14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."_

_15 But the Lord said to him, "Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. _

_16 So Cain went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden._

_(Genesis 4:9-16)_

He closes the book, and dumps it on the table in front of him.

_The Holy Bible_

Federico groans, distressed by his search. _This is so confusing, I don't understand._ He thought. _It still doesn't fully explain the situation... Okay, let's try to straighten this out, Federico; Ricardo referred Drake from the story of Cain and Abel. Cain is an immortal human and the first to kill. Ricardo's badmouthing might have to do with the Pulsation of the Infinite. Meaning, Ricardo knows what's in Drake's body. _

_However, that brings another question; how does Ricardo know it? My guess is that he might be a member of the Vincenzos. Back when he ambushed us, and after he shot Drake, he said, 'But to think that he would go there of all places is nothing more than an insult.' Drake and Alisa just came back from Clara's grave. He was talking about Clara's grave, that I'm sure. Ricardo's cursing explains of him knowing Clara, and if he's a member, it shows that the Vincenzos are the cause of Drake's 'immortality'. _

_But then, that brings another question, the greatest one; what did Drake do that made him enemy #1 on a mafia family? The obvious guess is that he might have caused serious harm to the Vincenzos. But what?_

Interrupting his thoughts, Federico hears a knock on his door. "Yes? Who is it?" he called out.

A familiar young man's voice came through the door speaker. "Hey Federico, it's Tatsumi. Can you open the door?"

"Oh, sure. Hang on." Federico stood up from the couch and walked over to the door. He pressed the 'open' button. As he did, the door slid itself, revealing Tatsumi. "What brings you here, Tatsumi?"

The second unit leader presented few items to him. In his hands were a sealed armlet, surgical gloves, a small paper, and a black chip. "Kota sent me to have you look at the evidence here. He says that he can't due to the civilians in the outer ghetto."

"Oh, okay then. Here Tatsumi, I'll take that off your hands."

Tatsumi handed all the items to Federico. "Have you found anything on Drake?"

Federico shook his head. "No, I haven't. What about you? How's the search on Lindow?"

Tatsumi showed a dejected face and shrugged. Federico, understanding his response, says, "No good, huh?"

"I'm just as lost as you are. Anyways, I gotta get going. If I come up with anything, I'll let you and the others know."

"Gotcha."

Tatsumi walked away and approached the elevator, leaving Federico to himself. He heads back inside his room, having the door close. Federico, places the items on his coffee table, and examines them. He notices a sticky note on the sealed armlet.

_The black chip is locked, and it needs the password and Drake's armlet. Use the surgical gloves for the armlet._

_USERNAME: 11TH HOUR_

_PASSWORD: LAST CHANCE_

_-Kota_

Federico grabs the paper. As he examined it, he eyes widened. Colored in black ink was a spear, surrounded by lightning. He blinked several times as he stared at the emblem.

"The Vincenzo Emblem. Why am I not surprised?" said Federico, somewhat expecting this. "Might as well take a look at the chip." He places the paper on the table, and takes the surgical gloves, wearing them. Federico then opens the bag, taking out Drake's armlet. As he did, he picked up the small black chip, and steps over to the terminal. He inserts the chip and Drake's armlet. The screen showed the log in request, and he typed in the username and password.

_"May 17 2069. The time is 3:46 PM."_

_That's Drake's voice! _Federico gasped as heard the familiar low voice.

_"I just joined the Italian Branch, and have become a god eater. My days as a god eater have already begun. Apparently, I'm a member of the defense team. I'm exhausted; new-type training is murderous on my body. _

_But I can't let that throw me down, after all. The only thing that I have on mind is my objective; and that's taking down Dalarik. It's going to take a while until I finally carry out what I need to do. As I much as I hate this, I have no choice but to follow this decision. As of now, Fenrir is the only one who might be able to take down Dalarik. The higher-ups just need some proper help. I'm only one person, but if I use Fenrir, I should be able to destroy Dalarik. This is a going to be long journey for me."  
_

_This is a diary. So Drake was recording this?_

_"*sigh* May 29 2069. The time is 10:56 PM._

_I've been monitoring the P.O.T.I. The wounds have stayed at my body longer than usual. It's good progress, but it's extremely slow. I don't know how long it will take, but at this rate it should be gone, if I just give it time. I'm too tired to continue today's entry, so far now, I'll end the recording here._

_April...*sigh* April...damn it..."_

Federico noticed the change of tone in Drake's voice. Exhaustion become more clear in his voice, and the tone of bitterness was added with it. The hesitation started to reveal a hint of sadness and depression, making the air in the room more heavy. The low, weak, voice spoke up again, struggling to talk. _  
_

_"April 10 2069... The time is... 8:32 AM... One of our god eaters yesterday was KIA; killed in action. Got eaten by a Gboro-Gboro... I can't stand it...Seeing the aragami rampage around, and seeing others get killed by them... I'll never get used to it, EVER..._

_The god eater had a family; a wife and son. I won't mention his name, due to... various circumstances... *sigh* I visited the god eater's family. The only thing that was left of him was his ring. I gave the family the ring and... the news of his death. The wife screamed at me, and started cursing at me, for not helping her husband. I even heard her child wailing and crying...The two chased me out of the house, telling me to never meet them again._

_The god eater's death has been haunting me, and I haven't slept ever since. I'm so tired, yet I can't sleep. I'm going to end today's entry here. Too much to think about..."_

Federico became stiff, as he continued hearing the recorded entries. He wore a pained expression, as he imagined the wife and son with Drake._  
_

_"April 30 2069... The time is 11:56 PM..."_

Drake's weak voice hesitated again. A stiffening silence played, but in the next moment, what Federico began to hear surprised him. He started to hear Drake sniffling. It was a weak sob at first, and as a few seconds passed, his crying became more audible. Soft, but clearly audible. Drake's trembling voice started to break down, making it more difficult for him to talk.

_"Four...F-four Vajras... broke into the outer ghetto. I managed to take them all down...but...but we suffered heavy casualties, and many...many of the civilians in sector B46 were killed...I...I've been in the Fenrir hospital due to my wounds... I heard from another member that... that...the wife and son were one of the victims... I'm going to... I'm going to stop here for today... I don't talk about this anymore..."_

After hearing the third entry, Federico felt a twinge of pain in his heart. His face showed pity and sadness, as he heard Drake weep and cry._  
_

_"June 9 2069. The time is 1:24 PM."_

All of a sudden, Federico felt a chill in his spine. The depression in Drake's voice was not there anymore. It was low and mellow to one's ears at first, but something was different. His voice sounded more like he was dead and cold inside.

_"I've been promoted to sergeant on the defense team. Yet, I'm not happy about it. I can see why a few god eaters hate their job so much; every time we grow stronger, we only lose more of ourselves. Trading away our innocence, and being treated like a tool. This is no different compared to before. It's just on a larger scale. I'm going to be quite busy, so it looks like I won't be updating another entry for quite some time._

_January 1 2070. The time is 12:01 AM. The beginning of a new year. It's snowing outside, but there's still work to do. I've been eradicating Vajras and a few other powerful aragami. And it seems that due to my work, I'll be transferred to another branch. Hooray. Well, anything's better than living in here with those rat bastards. I'm going to end my diary entries here. Every time I finish a diary entry, I only feel worse and worse. So, this is my last entry for this recording."_

The recording stopped, and a cold air filled the room. Federico stared at the screen. He was at a loss for words, and could only whisper one thing to himself. "Drake..."

* * *

End of Chapter 13: Investigation Part 3

* * *

_Author's note: I haven't died writing just yet peoples! With school coming back, it's difficult for me to update. But, don't worry! I'm still in the writing game, so I'm not going to let school bring me down on this job. :3 _

_So far, I'd like to hear some critique reviews on how this story is going. Go and point all the good things and bad things about this story, cause I feel like my writing has degraded. Which is why, I feel like I need to improve. And what better way to do that than listening to feed back? Go ahead and critique to your hearts content!_

_See you then until the next chapter everyone!_

_Credits to biblegateway and bibletruth for the Genesis entry I placed here._


End file.
